Bloodlines: Wolfblood Part 2
by FiFitrixbel
Summary: After over a year of living wild Rhydian has come back to find Maddy and explain to her why he left and what made him return. Things don't exactly go to plan though and when Rhydian is injured truths are reviled that suck Shannon and Tom into their mystical world and will change them all forever. My first attempt at writing so please read & review - reviews keep me going!
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER ONE**

It had been over a year since he had left. 15 full moons. The last time I had seen Rhydian had been from the back of my parent's Land Rover, driving away from him and his family. When I closed my eyes I could still see the look of shock on his face. He hadn't come to say goodbye to me; he had simply gone.

Rhydian was a wolfblood, just like me. Most humans would think of us as werewolves, people who changed into wolves on the full moon but we are different. We had been born this way, not made. We could also change spontaneously, sometimes when we were emotionally charged. As we got older the changes could be more controlled. We began the monthly changes in our teens but we were born with heightened abilities, clearer vision, exceptional hearing, an increased sense of smell and the ability to run faster than an Olympic sprinter!

I had never met anyone outside my family who was also a wolfblood, so when Rhydian arrived over a year ago, as the new boy at school, I was stunned. What popped out of my mouth wasn't the best of introductions; 'You smell like my parents' was never going to endear me to anyone and Rhydian spent months calling me smelly girl afterwards. But then he reaslised what I was when he had gone off on one at Jimi, a boy in our year, and nearly transformed into a wolf in front of half the school. Fortunately I knew what was coming, I bundled him into the photography room and calmed him down before he ripped the school apart. I knew what he was feeling. It was only a matter of weeks before my first transformation and to say I was twitchy was an understatement. Rhydian taught me that running helped with the jangling in my limbs and we ran as far into the woods as we could.

He talked to me like he was the expert! He had only transformed once before but it was fresh enough that his confusion still showed through. I had been surprised that I knew more about it than he did, but I was so lucky that I had my parents to help. He didn't have anyone, abandoned as an infant by his mother, he had been pushed about a care system that couldn't cope with anything out of the ordinary, numerous children's homes and foster carers, all over the country, until, eventually he had been shipped off to another set of foster parents, the Vaughan's, in our remote village of Stoneybridge, Northumberland.

It was a miracle that he hadn't ever hurt anyone. My parents wanted to take him into our pack, to make him more 'Tame' like us and to Rhydian's credit, he did try, but he had been a lone wolf for too long and the thought of being contained was sometimes too much for him.

When Rhydian's mother appeared out of the blue to find him he had been so angry, how could she have abandoned him? She had asked him to come away with her and his younger brother Bryn and join their wild pack but Rhydian felt more a part of my family that he did his own, or so I had thought. It turns out I was mistaken. When the real choice came, he chose his mother instead of us. Instead of me.

I know he had been to see our friends, Shannon and Tom, before he had left. Tom and Shannon had been my friends forever. Shannon was a determined red head who is more intelligent than Tom and I put together, she was the only child of older parents who wanted their daughter to have every educational opportunity she could. Tom, happy go lucky, always loved a joke but had had a difficult time after his parents had divorced and his father re-married and had a new family. Shannon had known that there was something on the moors and had been determined to find 'the beast of Stoneybridge', she had even set up a webpage to share he finding with others.

Shannon and Tom had witnessed the dramatic standoff between my family and his, when Rhydian's mother had nearly attacked them thanks to some artificial wolf scent Shannon had been liberally spaying deep in the woods in the hope of capturing the beast. They had got more than they bargained for. Tom and Shannon convinced my Mam and Dad that we didn't have to leave too, we wouldn't be exposed, they wouldn't put any pictures on the internet and they would keep our secret.

Tom had said that Rhydian loved me and that had kept me going all those months. He had loved me. He didn't now. It was as simple as that. I realised quickly that Rhydian had made his choice and that it wasn't me, so I had to get on with my life. I had been a dutiful daughter and a good wolfblood, I was working hard at school and obeying the rules of the pack, transforming locked in our cellar once a month on the full moon with Mam and Dad.

None of the good grades and the looks of pride from Mam and Dad helped inside though. As much as I tried, I still missed Rhydian so much. Each month, in the days before I changed, I had gone into the woods to run free. I had always ended up in the same place, by a stream that Rhydian and I had visited when we first realised what he was. Back then I had explained about how he had been born a wolfblood, how he would transform and about the need to keep the secret. I hadn't just been explaining our legacy to Rhydian, I had been explaining it to myself too, I had spent a lifetime keeping the secret and it had felt so good to share it with someone, anyone.

It was a relief to know that Shannon and Tom knew our secret now too. They had been so shocked and hurt when they first found out, shocked that I was an actual wolfblood and so angry that I had lied to them for years. After a few weeks they calmed down though and understood why I couldn't have told them. Tom let slip that he had nightmares for days after he had seen us transform so suddenly in the woods that day. The last thing he had expected was to see two of his closest friends, Rhydian and I, change into fully grown wolves.

For the first few months, Shannon and Tom both watched me anxiously in the days before a full moon; they would exchange nervous glances across the classroom at each other and at me, waiting for me to explode into a wolf in the middle of history class. (Mr Jeffries history classes could do with a bit of livening up, but not that much). I was being a good girl and a good cub; I had my emotions well and truly under control. Tom eventually started to relax more and slipped back into his usual jovial self, cracking inappropriate jokes and looking smug that he 'Had known something was going on all along'.

Shannon, of course, was fascinated by the science of it all. She wanted to know all the chemistry, biology and physics, and I endured endless questions ranging from 'How come you keep your clothes on?' (That I wasn't sure of, just an element of the magic of it all, was the unsatisfactory answer I gave her) to 'How does that entire wolf fit inside a teenage girls' body...?',

"Well", I had answered her, "How does a caterpillar change into a butterfly?"

"You hardly look like a Butterfly with fur and claws, Maddy" Had been her rather unscientific response...

Shannon was desperate to see us transform again, she pestered me incessantly to speak to my Mam and Dad and ask if she could record it. Capture the moment on film so that she could analyse every element of the process. I knew what their horrified response would be if I broached that subject. They trusted Shannon and Tom to keep the secret but changing is a deeply private thing. There is no way we would want to be filmed or photographed.

So, there I was, the spring full moon, following my nose again, running through the woods. The path I took was so familiar to me now, I could have done it with my eyes closed, following the scent that was so faint that I didn't know if I could smell it at all or if I was just remembering his smell in the deepest part of my heart.

I knew where I would end up, again. Sitting under the same tree near to the stream that we had collapsed under the first time we had skipped out from school at lunch time to run off some of the pre-change tension that came with every full moon. Again, my throat would feel thick and tight as I held back the pain of feeling so abandoned. I had nothing to complain about really. I had a Mam and Dad who loved and cared for me and who would always protect me. I had friends who loved me for who I was, no matter how freaky. And yet I still felt the sense of loss and deep down I knew why. It all began and ended with Rhydian. I would never find another wolfblood. To put my changes and temper on to a human would be an impossible ask. It's not as if wolfblood's are ten-a-penny, I was unlikely to meet another one just walking down the street. No-one had thought to set up a and putting 'Therianthropy' in the hobbies and interests section on a normal dating website might not fit with the whole 'keeping it quiet' aspect of the pack rules.

There was more to it that Rhydian just being a wolfblood though, I'd loved him for more than that. He had been my best friend in a way that Shannon and Tom could never be, and I had been his when he needed one too. Rhydian had helped me accept myself as much as I had helped him.

I came back to that same spot again and again to remember the few crazy months that Rhydian had been part of all our lives, to sit under that tree and feel the earth under my fingers, to look up and see the same wind blowing through the trees, now just beginning to come into leaf again. This month had felt more difficult than most. Maybe because I was about to sit exams, maybe it was because I was about to turn 16. Maybe it was the realisation that whatever path my life took I would one day end up alone. The thought didn't frighten me as much as I thought it would. It just saddened me that our history would end with me.

His scent seemed stronger this month, my mind playing tricks.

I had finished lesson and bolted out of school across the sports field, Shannon and Tom making excuses to the three 'K's', Katarina, Kay and Kara, our schools wannabe WAGS, caterwauling behind me.

"Where's she off to?"

"Running like that you would think she is in training for the next Olympics"

"Oy, Maddy, what monsters you running away from?"

They all yelled as I jogged across the field. Well, I thought I was jogging, perhaps I had let it go a bit and to a normal human it looked like I was running for my life. Still it felt good to stretch my limbs and move the spring air through my lungs. I let my legs carry me over the field and into the edge of the woods, and then I began on the same path I always took, darting between the trees and missing the dips in the terrain that I instinctively knew were there. I crossed the stream 3 times in giant high leaps, springing upwards to touch the branches of the trees that were sticky with the spring sap with my finger tips. Finally, I had arrived at _that_ tree and sat down as usual on the damp ground. There were still the autumn leaves covering the woodland floor, and I could smell the stagnant smell of the rotting leaf piles beneath a few dried crisp ones on top. I could also smell the stream, clear and cool as it tumbled over the worn rocks, I could taste the water spray on the tip of my tongue. Wolf-sense was intense. Our scent was all over this place, crisscrossed backwards and forwards from the times we had run in the woods, if I closed my eyes slightly and let my wolf-sense take over then I could more or less see the threads of scent crisscrossing through the trees and undergrowth, backwards and forwards, like the ribbons tangled from a maypole.

Our scent was more concentrated here, where we had sat down together; the scent had rubbed onto the tree, leaving an intangible mark that only our kind could read. So much stronger this month. I made a decision as I sat there, my faced press against the rough bark closing my eyes to breath in that happy memory. This couldn't continue. I couldn't keep torturing myself month after month like this. It was in the past now. He was in the past now. I took one last deep breath and stood up. Throwing my head back I gave out a pitiful and agonising long howl.

The soft thud behind me cut of my howl in a strangled stilted halt. It had made me jump, I span around so quickly, already preparing to change into a wolf before my brain had even connected with what my other senses were feeling.

I couldn't believe my eyes. I couldn't believe my ears or my nose either, but there he was. Rhydian standing in front of me, smiling that same boyish smile that meant he was up to something. He had been up in the tree. A trick he had when he wanted to evade detection. I took in a deep breath.

"Hay wolf-cub" he said, a note of laughter in his voice.

Then I launched myself at him, covering the couple of metres between us so quickly I took him by surprise, "Woe" he uttered as I began pounding at him with my fists held tight. The howl had changed into a deep grief stricken growl; it came from within my very being, a wail that I had held inside for far too long.

It was all let loose as soon as I saw him. My voice sounded distant and I couldn't understand the words that streamed from within me, my eyes were blurred and my hearing lost in a roar of pain and grief. It was deeply disconcerting for someone so used to increased wolf senses to suddenly lose everything in bomb blast of pain, I struggled against him harder as I fort to keep from sinking deeper into the dark abyss that threatened to engulf me.

His hands had caught my pounding fists and swiftly transferred them to one hand, his other arm wrapped tightly around my shoulders crushing me to his chest, fitting my head under his chin, I could hear his whispers now, "Maddy, it's ok, I'm here, Maddy, shhh, shhh" Over and over until I realised I was sobbing steadily into his dirty t-shirt.

Time seemed to have stood still. I didn't know how long I had been crying. I took a steadying breath.

"You left"' I uttered, "You left and you didn't say goodbye".

I realised I'd been saying it over and over.

All the pain and anger and frustration that I had been carrying round for these many months had burst from me in a torrent of blows and wails.

He cradled me against his chest now, still quietly "shushing" me and crushing my body to his. He had let go of my flailing hands and my fingers had wrapped their way into clinging on to his grubby tee-shirt. I could feel his steady heartbeat beneath my cheek pressed into his chest. His scent was overwhelming, enveloping my mind, so much stronger that I had remembered it, comforting in his warmth, he smelt of the earth and the stream, and the fresh springs trees. He still smelt like my parents. Like a wolfblood.

I could taste the tears on my lips that were still flowing down my face, my throat thick and horse. I pressed my face deeper into his chest to cover my tear sore face. I was quieter now, and aware that my body was returning to its full human form, I must have begun to change while I was screaming and yelling at him. I could hear his heartbeat and his steady breathing. I could hear the stream nearby and the birds in the trees. I could hear the movements of animals further away, something large running deep in the woods. I took a few deep breaths and steadied myself, taking my own weight on my shaky legs that had been leaning against him. I eased away from his chest to look him in the eyes.

"Hi" he said, his blue eyes still smiling round the edges. "That wasn't the welcome I was expecting".

I didn't trust myself to speak coherently just yet, I hesitated for a few brief seconds to consider my response by wiping my face with my hand and pushing my bedraggled hair out of my face.

"Hi" was all I could manage.

He smiled down at me, "I'm sorry Maddy." His face was cool and intense. This was an apology he had prepared for. His voice was level and considered. The sentiment was sincere. "Please, Maddy, I'm sorry and I'll never leave you again."

His face was so close to mine, his lips inviting, his eyes feeling their way into my soul. "Rhydian" I heard myself whisper.

I could feel the warm of his lips so tantalisingly close to mine.

Suddenly a noise behind me made me whip around in horror.

"NO!" Rhydian roared. The word becoming a deep growl at the end.

In a split second I saw Bryn, Rhydian's younger brother lunge towards us, in the breath that it took for Bryn to change into a wolf, Rhydian had pushed me behind himself.

I could feel Bryn's hot breath as his teeth clamped down on Rhydian's shoulder, a deep scream of pain surrounded around the woods as Rhydian pushed Bryn off. Bryn gave a yelp as he hit the rocks by the stream. The world lurched sideways as Rhydian began to collapse taking me with him. I cradled Rhydian in my arms as we fell, he landed on top of me, groaning in pain.

"Rhydian" I begged as his eyes lost focus.

"Maddy" I heard him whisper.

There was another voice, "Rhydian!" it shrieked, I looked up to see Ceri, Rhydian's mother, looking in horror at what had just happened. Bryn was returning to his human form.

"Why did you do that?" yelled Ceri at her younger son.

"I wasn't going for him" grunted Bryn.

"We need to get him help" I screamed, wiping the mud and leaves from Rhydian's face, "Rhydian, please, wake up, Rhydian, stay with me"

His eyes fluttered but did not focus.

"No" yelled Ceri, "We will not have human help, we can manage this ourselves".

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry Mum" I could hear Bryn whimpering to his mother.

"Enough, Bryn!" snapped Ceri, "How many times have I told you to control your emotions?!" She growled at him.

I could see the colour drain from Rhydian's face; he was losing blood and clearly in a lot of pain. He needed medical help and quickly.

I eased Rhydian into his mothers' arms. The fastest way to run was in wolf form for as long as possible.

"Please stay here, I've got to get help" I begged.

"We will not stay if you bring human help" spat Ceri.

"Please, leave him here" I was desperate. My voice broke and trembled.

I turned and started running. Changing was easy now; I was more practiced at it. It felt less alien to my body and mind.

I ran as a wolf to the edge of the woods closest to home, then I would change back. My legs pounded the earth, my claws digging in and pushing me forwards with an urgency that I couldn't describe. I felt as though I was running for my life. No, more than that, I was running for his.

8


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO**

"Mam! Dad!" I bellowed as I exploded through the front door.

"Oh, hello Pet" Said Mum as she turned from the kitchen sink.

"Please" I breathlessly begged, "You have to come".

Mam and Dad looked at each other, "I can smell Rhydian" said Mam.

"He's hurt" I sobbed, "In the woods".

"I'll get the truck" said Dad.

"What's going on?" questioned Mam, turning back in the passenger seat of the Land Rover to talk to me in the back, as we bounced along the track through the wood for as far as we could get a vehicle.

I still hadn't caught my breath; it felt like I had been holding it since Bryn had attacked Rhydian.

I explained in a rush of words what had happened. It was all so quick. One second Rhydian had been holding me, telling me everything was going to be ok, and the next he was in my arms, bleeding and injured.

"Rhydian is back. He's sorry he left. That's all he said, then Bryn, his little brother, attached him. Ceri was there, they stayed with him and told me not to get humans but I had to get help."

We had gone as far as we could in the truck, for another mile or so we were on foot. All three of us were running together, Mam and Dad slightly behind me so that I could lead the way.

We crossed the stream in a bound together, Mam and Dad now following the scent. Ceri and Bryn had gone, just left him there, bleeding and hurt.

"They've only just gone" said Mam, her senses honed more clearly than mine, "They are probably nearby, watching. They would be worried you would bring humans."

"I didn't bring humans" I said through gritted teeth.

"Tames, Maddy, it's near enough for them."

Dad had ripped off his jacket and was using it to put pressure on Rhydian's shoulder. "He'll be ok" said Dad, "we need to get him back to the house so that he's safe when he transforms. The change will help the healing process but he'll be good as new in a week or so."

Dad was optimistic as usual, he never got stressed. I wasn't convinced.

Dad scooped Rhydian up easily and began moving back towards where we had left the Land Rover. The strength of wolfblood's still astounded me, Dad carried Rhydian as though he were carrying a small child, it seemed to take the minimum amount of effort.

I cradled Rhydian's head on my lap as he lay in the back of the Land Rover. We bounced back down the track towards home, Rhydian's eyes fluttered open again. "It's OK," I said, "Were taking you back to the cottage, you'll be all right".

He sighed, gritting his teeth together in pain and closed his eyes again.

We got back to home, Dad carrying Rhydian again nodded to Mam, "Spare room?"

"Yes please Dan" confirmed Mam.

Dad carried him up stars to the room that was only used when family came to stay.

Mam ran to get our substantial first aid kit. We kept it well stocked as sometimes accidents did happen; play fighting when a wolf could leave a nasty bite. "Grab some clean towels Maddy" shouted Mam.

Dad had got Rhydian onto the bed and was still applying pressure to his shoulder. Mam followed him into the bedroom while I had passed her the towels.

"Right, let's see what we are dealing with then" said Dad, "Help me take his shirt off Emma."

Mam and Dad worked as a team, easing Rhydian out of his shirt, Mam carefully examining the wound, it looked ragged and deep. "It could do with stitches really Dan" worried Mam.

"We can't take him to the hospital tonight, they will want to keep him in, and besides, how do we explain the giant dog bite? If we say it happened here, they send in people with big guns, if we say it happened in the woods then they still send in people with big guns and Ceri and Bryn are still out there. We can't risk the authorities finding out. The change will help him heal so all we can do is clean him up and make him comfortable".

Mam didn't look convinced but nodded once.

Rhydian groaned in pain.

I fluttered in the background, unsure of what to do.

"What are we going to do with him Dan?" questioned Mam, "He's going to need help when we transform. If he changes too quickly he could do more damage..." Her voice trailed off as they both examined the large bloody mess of Rhydian's shoulder.

"Go and get some water out of the kettle Pet, we can wash Rhydian's wounds" Mam asked me. "Pour it in a big bowl".

I hurried downstairs, I was still so shocked my breath came in gasps and my legs and hands trembled. I washed my filthy hands under the warm kitchen tap, soaping away the mud and Rhydian's blood. I concentrated on taking slow even breaths to calm down. Rhydian was here, and safe.

I filled a large plastic bowl with cooled boiled water from the kettle.

A loud knock on the front door made me jump out of my skin. I nearly knocked the bowl off the side. The door was being opened before I could turn, if felt my eyes turn yellow as I whipped around, preparing to become a wolf if needed.

The sight I saw made me rush forwards shouting as I went.

"Gran!"

I couldn't believe it. Of all the people to arrive at just the right time, my Grandmother was the person we needed to see most.

"What are you doing here? How did you know? It's so good to see you!" The words tumbled from me as I hugged my fabulous granny.

Gran had taken early retirement from her job as a nurse a couple of years ago and had decided that she should see the world. So she did. Off she had been travelling.

Gran took a deep breath "Where's the patient" she stated.

He wolf sense amazed me. She must have been able to smell the blood. Or maybe my fear.

Mam had hurt the knock and appeared at the top of the stairs.

"Oh, Mam" She whispered to her mother, "are we glad to see you".

Gran dumped her bags and shot up the stairs removing her coat as she went. Mam gave Gran a very quick update. "It's a boy called Rhydian, a wild wolfblood. He's been bitten by his brother."

I followed as carefully as I could, carrying the bowl of water into the spare room.

"So this is _the_ boy" said Gran as she looked at Rhydian, glancing towards me and then Mam and Dad. _The_ boy? Who else was she looking for? How many injured boys did we have in the house.

"Not now Mam" hissed my mother under her breath.

"Danial Love, nice to see you" said Gran in a swift hello to my father. "Now, how's this lad doing?"

Gran appraised the situation with a clinical eye. "Nip down and grab my big carpet bag for me would you Dan. It's got all my bits and pieces in it." Gran eased the towel off Rhydian's injured shoulder; it was still a gaping bleeding mess.

Dad shot downstairs and returned a second later with the bag.

"Now then" said Gran, "first things first. We need to get some pain relief on board. Got any soluble Paracetamol Emma? It won't do much but might take the edge off and coupled with a few regular drops of White Willow Bark it might be enough to keep him calm through the night." Gran rummaged through the large bag while Mam dashed to the bathroom cabinet to find some paracetamol.

Rhydian was conscious and opened his eye to glace at me. "It's OK I whispered, this is my Gran". He closed his eyes, I could see the pain he was in etched along the sides of his tight jaw.

Gran and Dad managed to sit Rhydian up enough to administer the Paracetamol and White Willow Bark drops from a phial in Gran's bag.

I appraised Rhydian from the end of the bed. His dirty jeans were a little too short on his long legs, the muscles on his arms and body were leaner than they had been and his face had lost some of the roundness of youth, his jaw and cheek bones more defined, he was clean shaven but his hair was longer, the blond tufts didn't look like they had been cut in a very long time. I wondered absently how much I had changed in over a year.

"Next for the wound" continued Gran, "honey this time please Emma."

"No honey is this house" said Dad giving a tense laugh, "Golden Syrup for us. Will that do?"

A flat "No" was Gran's reply giving Dad a look that could wilt flowers. She clearly didn't think much of her Son in Laws' medical knowledge.

"I don't want it for my toast Dan, It's a natural antiseptic and will help the wound heal" Gran huffed, rolling her eyes at Mam.

"What else could we use?" queried Mam.

"Can we get some from someone?" asked Gran. "Have you found yourselves a keeper yet? Or still going alone?"

A what? I was confused. Gran was talking gibberish now.

Mam and Dad looked at each other. Dad gave a small shrug, "She's got to know sometime Emma, we've protected her for too long".

What on earth were they talking about? A keeper? A_ keeper_? Protected for too long? I was too lost to keep up.

I turned to Mam with my mouth opening and closing looking for the right answer when I didn't even know what question to ask.

Mam gave Dad a single nod.

"Madeline" (This was serious if my mother was using my full name). "Madeline, you need to call Tom and ask him to come over now and bring a jar of honey, oh, and Shannon to."

"Err, right, Tom." I stammered. This was getting more and more inane.

I whipped my phone out of my pocket and found Toms number. How was I going to get him over here?

Shannon answered.

"Where's Tom" I demanded

"Oh, Hi to you to Maddy, he's in the loo, he left his phone on the table, we're at the Bernie's cafe. Wait, why are you ringing Maddy, is everything OK? Aren't you changing tonight?" All of this came out in typical Shannon style, her brain was going faster than her mouth could keep up.

"I can't explain" I blabbed "but I need you both to come over to my house and bring a large jar of honey, it's urgent."

"Honey? Err OK, bring honey. Right, we'll be right there"

Shannon had clearly perceived the urgency in my voice.

"Honey? Who needs honey?" I could hear Tom in the background "I thought girls had chocolate cravings..."

I hung up. "It will take them about 15 minutes Gran".

"Good" said Gran "Just time to get this lot clean. Calendula-Mother tincture drops in the water will help this heal."

Gran got another little brown bottle out of the bottom of her carpet bag, checking the label carefully she added a few drops to the plastic bowl full of water I had brought up. Then she began to work at cleaning the wound on Rhydian's shoulder.

"So, how much does she know then" said Gran, not looking at Mam and Dad.

"As much as she needs to" said Mam in her firm voice. "And now is not the time to be having this conversation."

That put an end to whatever that conversation was. I knew my parents had kept wolfblood things from me in the past but I thought we were past all that. Now, the only secret we had was between us from the rest of the world.

It seemed an age before Tom and Shannon arrived. I was pacing the bedroom watching Gran treat Rhydian with care and compassion that came naturally to her.

Mam and Dad were giving each other anxious looks and trying not to look at me. Something was going on, I could feel it in the knots in my stomach and I fervently hoped that it had nothing to do with Rhydian. What were they all keeping from me? Were his injuries more serious than they were letting on?

I bounded down stairs when I heard Shannon and Tom approach the house. They didn't even get as far as the front door. I could hear Mam, Dad and Gran saying something in whispered urgent tones, something about 'need to know'. More secrets. Shannon and Tom were both out of breath when they arrived, they had clearly rushed.

"I think you had better come upstairs" was all I greeted them with.

They both looked concerned as I lead them upstairs to the spare room but I didn't know how to prepare them for what they saw. Rhydian was lying on the bed, still with his eyes tightly closed, his breathing was laboured but the wound was now at least clean but still terrifying.

Shannon gasped when she saw Rhydian, Tom stepped back and looked like he was about to bolt down the stairs. To his credit, he took a deep breath and stayed put.

The room seemed very full of people. I could see the million questions forming in Shannon's mind and the one forming in Tom's. Rhydian.

"Ah" said Gran when she looked up and saw Tom and Shannon. "The Keeper _and _The Witch. Perfect"

"Sorry, the _what_?" spat Shannon, turning already to confront Gran.

"It's OK dear" smiled Gran, "I didn't realise you didn't know."

I couldn't stay quiet any longer. "Know what? What _is_ going on?" my voice sounded high and strained.

Gran relieved Tom of the large jar on honey he was carrying and in one movement undid the lid and began pouring the honey onto one of Mam's best towels.

Mam spoke next. "Shannon, Tom, this is Maddy's Gran, my mother Ellie."

Tom and Shannon just stared at Gran with shocked faces.

"Take over Emma" ordered Gran "and I'll explain".

"Shannon, Tom, we need your help. Rhydian has been hurt. Bitten by his brother. As you know tonight is a full moon so Maddy, her Mam and Dad, and I will all transform tonight and so we won't be able to help Rhydian. He will need White Willow Bark administering when he is in pain, regular fluids and he will need Milk Thistle Root extract every two hours to slow the transformation. It's important that he doesn't change too quickly – he'll tear this wound apart. He'll be quite safe to you if he has had the Milk Thistle Root, besides he can't hurt you anyway, not if you're the keeper Tom."

"If I'm the what?" questioned Tom.

"I'll explain more tomorrow when we are all together, no time now" said Gran "but all you need to know is that all four of you are linked and there is a reason that you found out that Maddy is a wolfblood. A future all four of you will share."

"I'm sorry" spat Shannon in her assertive woman voice "I believe in science, I don't believe in hocus pocus."

"Of course you don't" said Gran, smiling in the special way that only someone who knows a secret can. "It's interesting that you are wearing that talisman?" Gran pointed at the necklace round Shannon's neck. A small silver charm of two leaves and two perfectly round pearls.

"Talisman?" questioned Shannon "It's a necklace my Nan gave me ages ago".

"Yes dear, but why did you put it on today?"

"Well, I... I don't know" Stumbled Shannon, "I suppose feel safe when I'm wearing it..."

"Safe. Yes. You would feel safe wearing it with friends like yours. That pretty little silver thing is a representation of mistletoe. A natural defence against the werewolf. You're a White Witch if ever I knew one. Forget the Hollywood, broomstick riding, cackley hag image you have in your head. Witches are women of science. They know how to use the natural things around them, herbalists, chemists, biologists. How did you find out that Maddy was a wolfblood?"

"I knew there was something strange on the moors and I kept followed my instincts..." Shannon's voice trailed off. I could see her considering what Gran had said. "You followed what you knew to be true" said Gran "Tenacity is a trait most witches possess."

Gran smiled.

"A quick test for you then," continued Gran" tell me Shannon, what does Calendula Mother do? And the Honey?"

Shannon didn't even pause "Calendula Mother is for pain relief and inflammation, honey is an antiseptic to prevent infection and help healing, but EVERYONE t knows that..." Shannon took a breath as she looked at Tom and I, we were both stunned. How did she know this stuff?

"Do they? I don't think so ." stated Gran.

"They do if they used the internet" countered Shannon.

"Or if they are interested in the natural world" argued Gran.

Slowly Shannon seemed to realise that Gran made sense, it was like watching the sun come up in the morning.

"I'd better phone my Mum and Dad and let them know I'm staying over" Shannon confirmed, pulling her phone out of her pocket. Tom texted his Mum too, she was working shifts so would be out of the house anyway.

Gran showed Tom and Shannon how to administer the Milk Thistle every two hours, the Calendula-Mother to help with the pain and fluids to keep Rhydian hydrated.

Rhydian was calmer now, his breathing more regular.

My mind was spinning. I couldn't believe what Gran had been saying. I wanted to open the front door and run as fast as I could, I could feel the nervous energy in my limbs, the moon was nearly up and the urge to be free was pulling me out on to the moor.

Mam noticed my twitching arms and legs. "Time to go." She ordered.

Gran, Mam and Dad all moved towards the door, subtly giving us the space we needed.

"I can't believe he came back" said Shannon absently, looking at Rhydian.

"Why has he come back Maddy?" queried Tom.

"I don't know" I answered honestly. "He didn't get the chance to explain before..."

I couldn't say the words. I was all still to horrific in my mind. The truth was that I knew he had been injured protecting me, but I still didn't understand why I need protecting from Bryn in the first place. Why would Bryn attack me?

I briefly hugged Shannon, "Please look after him for me."

I went to join my family in the safety of the cellar. As Dad closed the bolt across the door with a chilling and resounding clang, I felt as though I was going to suffocate in the confines of the dark damp room. Mam and Dad hugged me as we began to change.

"He'll be all right love, you have both have an important job to do..." was the last thing Gran said before her shape shifted.

I woke with a start the next morning, now returned to my human form. I hadn't been asleep for long, just dozing after a night spent pacing backwards and forwards in the dark cellar, more cramped than usual because of Gran's presence. It wasn't planned to contain four grown wolfblood's. I'd felt claustrophobic and contained, even in my wolf form I had wanted to check on Rhydian.

Mam, Dad, and Gran were still asleep, also returned now to their human forms. I struggled to open the heavy door as quietly as I could but it was still noisy, Dad stirred as I fled up the cellar steps.

Shannon opened her eyes as I entered the spare room; she was curled up in the small arm chair under the window. I hesitated inside the door, "He's ok" she whispered, nodding toward Rhydian, still in wolf form curled up peacefully asleep on one side of the double bed, the Milk Thistle had done its job of slowing down the change. The honey soaked towel still covering his injured shoulder in a sticky bloody mess.

I could hear my parents climb the stairs, Mam talking gently to Gran, telling her to go and get into bed in my bedroom.

Tom was asleep on the other side of the bed, a sight I never thought I would see. What must have happened during the night? I eased the blanket from the end of the bed and took it to cover Shannon in the chair. Pillows had been strewn on the floor during the night; I took one over to the side of the bed and sat down on it on the floor next to Rhydian's head. He opened his yellow eyes and looked at me, moving his head so that his soft nose was pushed against my neck, I reached up and stroked the thick fur on his head and scratched behind his ear. He moved his head so that our foreheads were pressed together, wolf and girl. I fell asleep.

I woke up to the delicious mouth watering smell of bacon frying coming from the kitchen. Rhydian was awake too and now back in his human form, his forehead was still pressed against mine, we smiled at each other from this strange blurry view point. I realised my arm was still resting on Rhydian's neck, I began to self-consciously to slowly pull it way from him, but Rhydian caught it and pressed it to his face, breathing in the warmth of my hand. I blushed to the very roots of my hair.

"I'm starving" I whispered.

"Me too" whispered Rhydian back.

"How is your shoulder feeling?" I braved a peek under the messy towel covering his wound. The skin beneath was no longer a bloody gaping wound but now an angry scar, bright-pink and sore. The wonder of wolfblood healing, Rhydian was almost as good as new but it would still take a few days before he fully healed.

"I'll go and find some food" I whispered. Shannon and Tom were beginning to stir, wiping sleep from blurry eyes and yawning. Tom seemed slightly stunned that he was on the bed next to Rhydian and hastily scuttled down to the end of the bed, not making eye contact with anyone.

I got up and stretched, I was uncomfortable from sleeping in such an awkward position. I had had such vivid dreams, first about the night before, I could see Shannon and Tom caring for Rhydian, him changing to his wolf form, Tom had been nervous. Rhydian had been in such pain but Shannon had helped. Tom had finally calmed down and helped Rhydian.

Then the dreams changed and I was running wild with Rhydian, running as wolfs and then as humans, it had seemed so real, the feel of the woodland beneath my paws, the smell and sound of Rhydian running alongside me. I could even taste the water we had stopped to lap from the stream. I must have been too tired after the stress of the previous evening.

I nipped downstairs into the kitchen to find Mam frying plate full of bacon butties, Gran was sitting at the kitchen table chatting with Dad who was leaning against the kitchen worktop, all of them were drinking large mugs of steaming tea.

"Morning" I greeted them all.

"Afternoon actually" laughed Dad.

Gran began to get up from the table.

"Let me have a proper look at my grand-daughter" she said, "I hardly had the chance last night".

She hugged me tightly and then stood back at arm's length, examining me from head to toe.

"You look more and more like your Mam every day" Gran clucked.

I blushed. "How long are you staying Gran? I... I... I mean tell us all about your trip, was it amazing? Did you meet any other wolfblood's?" The words tumbled from me in the wrong order.

Gran chuckled. "Oh my trip has been fabulous, pet. So much to tell you and you should see the photos and video I took, but now I'm here for as long as I'm needed, which I think might be a while given the current situation."

There she was, being all mysterious again; still I was so pleased to see her.

I heard Dad suck in his breath through his teeth, clearly having his Mother in Law to stay, no matter how well they got on, wasn't on his event horizon.

"Rhydian seems much better this morning" I said.

"I peeped in" confessed Gran, "you all looked so peaceful. Just be careful with the Eolas though, wolf to human contact can be tricky even when that human is a wolfblood."

Mam and Dad had both whipped around to face me, furious looks on their faces.

Eolas. A strange ability that some wolfblood's possessed to connect with nature and with each other. I'd dabbled with it but it scared me, Rhydian was better at using it.

I looked confusedly at Mam and Dad. "But I don't use Eolas, not after you told me what had happened to..." I trailed off, I didn't want to talk about Mam's long lost cousin in front of Gran, I was worried that reminding her of the loss of her niece would upset her.

"Yes, your Aunt Louise uses Eolas unwisely. I caught up with her briefly last summer in southern Ireland. She sends her love."

Mam huffed and turned back to making the mountain of bacon butties. She was still furious at her cousin and best friend for turning wild.

"But by putting your heads together like that" Gran continued "you will communicate with each other. It's how wolfblood's communicate in their wolf form. Really Emma, Dan, she should know this."

"We've never needed to use it" stated Dad, shrugging. "It never came up. Besides you know how Emma feels about using it."

"I do" said Gran, "Emma never quite mastered it did you, Pet? Still Maddy should know how it works, an understanding like, given her position."

That explained the vivid dream; I was seeing Rhydian's thoughts, then as he fell asleep his dreams too. I blushed again when I realised that I had been in them. Rhydian could use Eolas well but I didn't trust myself with the strange ability to see things other wolfblood's couldn't. Mam had frightened me with tales of her cousin.

"Right, these butties are ready, shall we take them upstairs, just this once" Mam forced a smile onto her face.

Upstairs in the bedroom, all my friends were awake. Shannon had helped prop Rhydian up on the pillows and given him a glass of water. Tom still looked shattered sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Needed a bit of extra help did you" grinned Gran at Tom, pointing to Shannon's silver mistletoe charm around his neck.

I'd never seen Tom move so fast to take the necklace off.

"He had a wobble at about 3am when Rhydian got a bit snappy" smiled Shannon, looking a little smug as she replaced her necklace around her own neck.

"Sorry" Said Rhydian, looking sheepish.

"You've done very well, thank you both" said Mam with genuine feeling "Now, who fancies a butty?"

13


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER THREE **

We were all munching on bacon butties, I had resumed my seat on the pillow beside the Rhydian, Tom was now sitting on the end of the bed, Shannon gave up the chair for Gran and she and Mam perched in the window ledge. Dad was balanced on the small dressing table chair. Rhydian was propped up on his pillows looking awkward trying to eat with only his left hand, but he was still managing to munch his third sandwich. Clearly his injury hadn't impacted on his appetite.

The room was quiet now and I could feel the tension start to build; we all had so many questions we wanted answers to.

"So, Gran, tell us about your travels" I began, with a forced lightness to my tone, may as well start with a neutral topic.

Calling my energetic, dark haired, well dressed Grandmother 'Gran' hardly seemed fair; she was not your typical Granny. She had taken early retirement from nursing and decided to go off and explore the world. 'If not now, then when?' had been her response to my parents horrified expressions of protest when she had first suggested it a few years ago.

"Oh Pet, I had a wonderful time. Visited some wonderful places, met some wonderful people" she said with a twinkle in her eye.

"You're a nurse?" questioned Rhydian.

"Yes Pet, that's right."

"But how did you manage to hold down a full time job _and_ be a wolfblood? I mean, I know that Maddy's dad is a carpenter but he works for himself, so doesn't have to explain anything to anyone" asked Rhydian, clearly bemused.

Gran laughed, "It's easier than you think, you've been wild for too long. I was a nurse so I worked shifts. If it happened to be a full moon on a night I was roistered on it wasn't too hard to find someone to swap. I wasn't given shifts every month so it only happened a few times a year. I had Emma to bring up so it was easy to come up with an excuse: lack of a baby sitter, or school play, parents evening, or a party, someone would swap shifts with me. I only phoned in sick three nights in a nearly 25 year career when I couldn't find an excuse or swap." said Gran with pride "My wolf-sense gave me powers of diagnosis that even medical science couldn't keep up with sometimes, there were many times when I nudged a junior doctor in the right direction. Many wolfblood's have a talent of some sort; Dan here can do things with wood that has always amazed me."

Dad looked down and shuffled his feet.

"Rhydian is an amazing artist" I stated matter of factly.

"I haven't done much drawing lately Maddy" said Rhydian quietly.

"And what about you Maddy? Anything come out yet?" asked Gran

"No, nothing." I said, suddenly feeling glum.

"Oh well Pet, I'm sure destiny has something important in store for you." said Gran, suddenly being all mysterious again.

"So" she began again "we have five protectors, including a Witch and a Keeper. Excellent"

I wasn't even going to ask this time. I just glanced at Mam and Dad, who looked resigned to whatever Gran was telling me. Shannon and Tom just looked confused.

"Shannon of course we know about" continued Gran "a first class Witch, I have no doubt, I'm sure it came as a surprise to you, Pet, but Witches have always been associated with wolfblood's, we need them and they need us. One of the old ways to tell a Witch was by her 'Familiar', an animal that would be seen to assist the witch. This was distorted by the Witch hunts and trials that persecuted innocent people who just happened to have a pet, but of course, where it was genuine, that animal was a wolfblood. In fact the Wolfblood needs the Witch rather than the other way round but folklore tells a different story. As I explained last night, real Witches are women of science; they follow their instinct and use all they know to decide an outcome. Shannon has already displayed many of the qualities Witches show towards a Wolfblood, an instinctive understanding and compassion, and of diplomacy on both parts." I guessed Gran was talking about everyone keeping the secret. History didn't treat wolfblood's or Witches with much understanding. "Put away your ideas about caldrons and casting spells, we have Shakespeare to thank for that mumbo jumbo nonsense."

"Now, Tom, it's you that's really important. A Keeper." Gran took a pause, she was being dramatic.

I glanced from Tom, who looked confused, to Rhydian who didn't seem surprised as by Gran's revelations.

"Most wolfblood packs have a Keeper. A Keeper is a human who knows all about the wolfblood changes and helps them, especially during a full moon, he keeps them safe and the humans around them safe too. They too work on instinct much like a Witch but they are bound to the pack they protect and the pack will also protect them. How long have you all know each other?"

"Since primary school" I said, I had known Shannon and Tom forever. I had kept the secret from them for so many years. We had all been drawn together even as little children. Shannon, the self confessed geek; Tom, the comic relief; me the freaky oddball.

"You love Maddy don't you Tom?" Gran fired the question like a bullet from a gun. There was silence in the room. Tom looked uncomfortable, staring at a spot down near his feet. I could feel Rhydian bristle next to me, his body was suddenly tense.

"I... I..." whispered Tom, unable to answer. I had always suspected Tom had a crush on me but he had never done anything about it, and I wasn't sure I wanted him to; I loved him too much as a friend to have risked losing that.

"But not in a romantic way" said Gran firmly, "you want to protect her and look out for her. You want her in your life always but are unsure that you want her as a girlfriend? Am I right."

Tom answered with only a single word. "Yes".

"You love her like a sister"

"Yes" He sounded sure and a little relieved.

"Well, that is what being a Keeper is, you will protect your wolfblood pack with your life if necessary and the pack would protect you too, you help to keep the secret and keep them safe. It's an especially necessary for Tame wolfblood's to have a Keeper. I am amazed that Emma and Dan have gone so long without telling you, especially since you started changing Maddy." Gran looked disapprovingly at Mam and Dad.

Mam justified herself "We wanted to keep them out of it, it should be their choice to join our world. This is pretty heavy stuff Mam"

"You can't always fight fate Emma." Gran stated matter of factly. All this was slowly making sense to me, Rhydian seemed to be staying very quiet, not like him at all.

"Have you had a Keeper Gran? Or a Witch?" I asked.

"Yes love, a Keeper, George. He was a lovely man, a great friend. He died just before I went travelling"

"Died?" queried Shannon, worried.

"Yes Pet, he was 97. A good innings when all said and done, he was my parents Keeper before me."

"I remember him" I mused, "He was your neighbour. Wow."

Shannon's phone suddenly rang making us all jump. "It's my Mam" she said as she answered it.

A brief conversation later and she shrugged "I'm sorry, I've got to go, they want me home".

"That's OK, you have done so much, thank you."

"Thank you" echoed Rhydian.

He look tired again. I felt sleepy and grubby, I still had the same clothes on I was wearing yesterday.

We all went down stairs to see Shannon and Tom out, leaving Rhydian dozing in bed.

I plodded back upstairs and decided to take a shower, nipping to my bedroom first to get a change of clothes.

It felt good to be in the shower, letting the hot water wash away all the mud that was engrained in my skin, it gave me time to think of everything that Gran had told me on my own. Shannon and Tom were linked to my world, in a way that I could never have predicted. Shannon a Witch! Who would have guessed? And Gran's revelation about Tom certainly made sense, he was the brother I had never had, my best friend and our keeper of secrets.

Rhydian. I still couldn't believe that he was here, in my house, back with us. But there was a niggle in my mind, for how long? He had said that he was sorry for leaving but I still wasn't sure why he had left me in the first place. And still the confusion over why Bryn would attack him? I shampooed my hair and tried not to think about the questions that buzzed around in my brain. The important thing was that Rhydian was back, and that was all that needed to matter for now.

Half an hour later I peeped in on him, I was clean, had dried my hair and changed my clothes now so I felt truly more human. Rhydian was still on the dirty bed wearing his jeans and covered in the remands of blood and honey. He could use a shower himself. He was awake and chatting to Gran. Dad came up behind me, reading my mind he suggested that Rhydian have a bath, it would help his shoulder too. "I'll find you some clean clothes and help you into the bathroom" suggested Dad.

Gran and I changed the filthy bed while Rhydian soaked. She chatted away to me about nonsense while we worked, tutting when I didn't make the bed using hospital corners. "So, you and Rhydian hay?" She questioned as we worked.

"There is no me and Rhydian Gran, there never has been." There was a tone of regret in my voice that there was no point trying to hide from Gran. She could see things in my heart I hadn't even admitted to myself.

Dad helped Rhydian back into the bedroom. He looked pale and tired again, he was wearing a fresh pair of Dad's pyjama bottoms and a t-shirt, his hair looked even blonder now that it was washed and clean.

"Hi" he said to me smiling, as Dad helped him back on to the bed, Gran easing the cover over his legs and adjusting the pillows.

"Hi" I whispered back, blushing again. How could he make me do that? All he had said was Hi and I still felt the blood rush to my face.

Dad and Gran melted away, going down stairs to Mam, busy in the kitchen.

"How are you feeling?" I asked, rather conventionally.

"Better now, first hot bath I've had for ages, my shoulder is sore though but that stuff your Gran keeps giving me is OK."

"She couldn't have arrived at a better time. It's like she knew she would be needed."

"Maybe she did," said Rhydian, smiling, "recon she reads the tea leaves or uses a crystal ball your Gran."

He was teasing me I could tell, he knew something more about the things that Gran had been talking about. That was understandable, he had been living wild with his Mum and brother for a year, they used the natural ways of being a wolfblood, using Eolas to see things that others didn't.

I took a deep breath. "Rhydian, where have you been?" I could hardly form the words, mumbling them to my toes as I sat on the small dressing table chair pulled closer to the bed. I couldn't ask the questions I really needed an answer to, 'why did you leave and why did you come back?' until he had answered the former.

Rhydian took a deep breath and prepared to tell me. "I left Maddy and I'm sorry, I shouldn't have gone like that, but Tom and Shannon knowing, seeing what we were, it scared Mum so much, I thought she was going to attack them, or you. I was convinced that the place would be crawling with a lynch mob looking for us. I went to see Tom and Shannon before we went because I knew that your family would go and hide and I didn't want you to have to leave because of my Mum or because of something Shannon and Tom had done, I knew that they wouldn't want that really. We left pretty much immediately, by the next day we had travelled well into Yorkshire and for there we spent a couple of weeks moving into Derbyshire and then through Staffordshire and into Wales. That's where we have been mainly. I don't really know the exact area as Ceri, Bryn and the rest of the pack don't bother with the place names human's use."

"The Pack?" I interrupted, "how many are there?"

"Changed all the time, people come and go, maybe a dozen or so, wild wolfblood's, some Tame who needed a change. Met some interesting people, couple of lovely families, wild children though." He laughed "It was hard when we were travelling, crossing other wolfblood's territory, took some negotiation sometimes, but Mum is well known and it was only me they felt threatened by. A new male suddenly appearing worried a few people. It's amazing that I had stayed under the radar for so long but I suppose that it was my first transformation that makes me more noticeable, that's how Mum found me, when I started changing, she could see that I was a full wolfblood and find me using Eolas."

"What did you eat? Where did you sleep?"

"We eat what we can hunt, I was rubbish at it at first, it was grim, I'm not exactly into kill-it, cook-it, eat-it but I got better and the food was pretty good, winter was hard, I got a bit sick of rabbit but a couple of times Mum hunted as a wolf and brought down a deer, that would keep the pack going. Some wolfblood's will take livestock from fields and Mum said that they had done it in the past. It was something that doesn't sit well with me, too much like stealing, the last place I wanted to end up was another police cell on full moon again." He smiled at me as we both remembered when Rhydian had been taken into our local police station and they had wanted to keep him in the cells over night to teach him a lesson, fortunately Dad had told them that he suffered from clinical lycanthropy, a psychological condition where the sufferer thinks they can turn into a werewolf, in Rhydian's case though it was far too close to the truth. They had soon released him to our care and we had headed to the moors as we changed.

"He came to question us you know, after you left..." I said hesitantly to Rhydian.

"What? Who?" queried Rhydian.

"The policeman that had wanted to keep you in the cells that night, he came to question us all when you disappeared. The Vaughn's reported you missing, after they had about broken down our door looking for you. The police came to us all after school to ask us if we had seen you or where you had gone."

"What did you tell them?"

"I told the truth, that a woman had come claiming to be your mother and that you had gone off with her. There was nothing more we could tell them, there was nothing more we knew. They asked about addresses, names, areas... We didn't know." I shrugged.

"Thank you" he said reaching for my hand on the edge of the bed. It felt good to have him squeeze my fingers and gently rub his thumb over my palm.

He gave a long yawn. I realised he would be tired, he was still recovering.

"I'll leave you to have a sleep."

"Stay for a bit Maddy." He said, relaxing back into the pillows and pulling the blanket up. He still had a hold on my hand. He slowly closed his eyes, "I'm glad I'm here Maddy." He whispered before falling asleep.

Mam had cooked a great big beef stew for supper that night served with loads of mashed potatoes and Yorkshire puddings, she took some up to Rhydian while I chatted to Gran about her travels. They had taken her all over the world, backwards and forwards through Europe, on to India and Asia even briefly to Australia for a couple of weeks. It sounded amazing, I thought the urge to be free just meant running wild near the time of the full moon, but maybe there was a certain wanderlust in me too. I wanted to see the world.

We went to bed early, Gran still sleeping in my bed; I was on the sofa with a spare pillow and a sleeping bag. I was so tired it didn't really matter; it was still more comfortable than the floor by the side of Rhydian. I just felt relieved that he was happy to be here.

I was woken early by someone quietly calling my name.

"Maddy, Maddy, help me put this on..."

"Rhydian?" I was groggy from sleep and strange tangled dreams that had shown Tom holding a giant key and Shannon setting up a campfire with a cauldron in the middle of an English lesson.

"You're going?" I questioned, opening blurry eyes to see Rhydian standing at the foot of the sofa struggling to pull my Dad's wax jacket on over his injured shoulder. There was a tone of panic in my voice.

"No" he smiled, shaking his head, "I'm here now. We're going outside to get some fresh air."

"What time is it? Why now?" I was warm and comfortable.

"To watch the sun come up, come on Maddy, help me."

The puppy dog face. I knew he was up to mischief when he looked at me like that, those little boy lost eyes luring me in to something that was just a little bit dangerous.

I clicked my tongue and shook my head laughing at him. Better to go along than let he go off on one of his adventures and miss out. I'd missed this, the thrill of being with Rhydian when he was feeling maverick, normally it happened just before a full moon, not after, but I could tell that he had something planned.

I helped him into the coat and pulled mine off the hook by the door, "I just need a sec" I whispered to him. I climbed the stairs to the bathroom as stealthy as I could two at a time. While I was there, I hastily brushed my teeth, pulled a brush through my tangled hair and grabbed a thick pair of socks from the airing cupboard.

Back downstairs I pulled on my boots and met Rhydian by the back door, he was holding the pillow and sleeping bag I had been using on the sofa in his arms. What was he planning?

We opened the back door onto the cold and misty morning, the sun wasn't even peaking over the tops of the woods in the distance, it was still dark, the stars pin pricks of pure white light in the blue sky. I glanced at the clock on the side, it was just after 4am, what was he up to?

"Where are we going?" I questioned

"Not far. Just into the garden. I need to get out."

We moved into the garden, down to the bottom under the fruit trees, to a seat my father had made. It was beautiful, his craft and skill had always fascinated and amazed me, the seat was carved for my mother, out of a single tree that had fallen in the woods, the curves were soft and sanded so smooth it was like silk. Rhydian propped the pillow into the right hand corner of the seat and sat down with his back to it, he gestured for me to come and sit next to him. I sat down and he carefully spread the open sleeping bag around us both. The seat faced east, we would be able to see the sun come up over the trees.

We were sitting so close together, I smell the wax from Dad's coat, Rhydian suddenly unzipped the coat and pulled me closer to him, tucking me inside the jacket and pulling it around my back. I was snug and warm next to him. I couldn't help it but I giggled "What are you up to?" I asked him turning my face to look him in the eye.

"Keeping warm" he replied smugly. An answer to everything as usual.

As we sat there, in the cold damp morning air, my eyelids were heavy and our breathing fell into the same pattern together. My head rested onto his uninjured shoulder and he tucked me again under his chin

"Rhydian?" I questioned suddenly, "Why did Bryn attack? Is that why you came back, because of a fight?"

"No." He answered. There was a long pause. Then he took a deep breath and started to talk. "Bryn didn't attack me. He was going for you, I pulled you behind me, got in his way." I had thought as much but I still didn't understand.

"Me? But why? What have I done? I haven't hurt Bryn have I?"

"No, Maddy, No you haven't." He paused again. "It's hard to know where to start."

Rhydian took a few breaths and gazed into the distance. He began to speak.

"I wanted to come back as soon as I left. The very second. I went to see Shannon and Tom and I wanted to come and see you but I thought that if I did, I would put you in danger. When Bryn came to find me he said that Mum had spent months looking for me, leaving him behind with others in the pack. She wanted to bring me home. I didn't know what he meant by that as they were wild wolfblood's. As we travelled further away for days and days I didn't know where we were or how to get back to you. I kept using Eolas but it was confused with moving about so much. We travelled close to big cities and it became messed up with all the interference from the humans. I could see that your family had stayed put and I satisfied myself that you would be happy and settled and go on with your life with Shannon and Tom as though I had never been a part of it."

"We settled in our territory in the forests of North Wales. I still couldn't understand why Mum had abandoned one child to go and look for another, why she needed me so much. Bryn's behaviour was odd, one minute he wanted me in his life, the next he hated me, I mean really hated me. All I could think about was coming back here when he was like that and that just made him worse. He hadn't started to change fully yet, though he wasn't far off. Did you know that wild wolfblood's change earlier than Tames Maddy?"

"No, I wonder why?" I pondered absently.

"I think it's because they need to survive more independently..." Rhydian shrugged. "Anyway, eventually Mum took me away from the pack for a few days to explain why she had needed to get me back."

"And?" I questioned.

"And, well, I'm special Maddy."

"Yer, we know Rhydian" I said laughing at him.

"Shut up" he said, nudging me with his good shoulder. I turned to look at him and laughed, his face was so close to mine, I could feel the warmth of his lips so close to mine, taste his breath on the tip of my tongue. I closed the gap between us and kissed him, softly on the lips. He responded pulling me closer to me, deepening the kiss. My arms moved around him and I drew him to me tightly, like I would never let go.

"Agghhh" he moaned through gritted teeth.

"Oh, I'm sorry..." I had pulled his injured shoulder wrapping my arms around him. I quickly pulled back and shot to the other end of the seat. He simply smiled at me and drew me closer again, pulling me onto his lap, putting my left hand around his waist so I didn't hurt him, I slipped it up under the edge of the coat.

He kissed me this time, softly and gently at first then more intensely, his lips opening and his tongue brushing along my lower lip. My arms drew him closer, one feeling the muscles across his back, the other on his neck, tangled in his hair. My senses were all consumed, I felt warm and safe, his arms were around me, one hand held my face gently rubbing his thumb against my cheek. I could hear the birds begin their morning chorus, backwards and forwards to each other, I heard Rhydian groan from deep within his chest as our kiss deepened. I could taste him as his lips moved on mine. He smelled so good, clean and fresh, like the morning. My heart was beating faster, we were both gasping for breath, laughing at each other. His lips moved along my jaw and down towards my neck.

"Maddy" he whispered and held me tight. It was like he had come home.

11


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPER FOUR**

As we sat, warm and comfortable, wrapped around each other on the bench, the sun was slowly beginning to peep over the tree tops.

"This was what you had planned?" I smiled from my snug position tucked against his chest.

"Yes." He kissed the top of my head. "Though, technically, you kissed me first."

"Yer, I did, didn't I!" I smiled and turned my head, kissing his jaw up to his ear.

He laughed at me. "Your special too Maddy. That's why I came back."

"You couldn't resist, hay?" I mocked.

He gently eased me away from him to look me in the eyes. "The things that your Gran was saying the other night about 'destiny', she was right."

"You understood all that? I thought you had been quiet during that conversation. Did you know about Shannon and Tom too?"

"Yer, well, sort of, Mum guessed but I can't say I really believed her. Having said that it was a relief to see them the other night, I felt like I was in safe hands. I didn't really understand what Ellie was saying about the five of us though."

"No, neither did I, especially since there were seven of us in the room."

"You and I." he continued, "When Mum took me away from the pack she explained why she had come looking for me and why I was so important. My mum is the Alpha of her pack if you like, the head of it, all the wild wolfblood's respect and listen to her. What she says goes."

"Yer, so?" I questioned, "how many are in your pack? Did you find anything about your Dad?"

"No Maddy, my Dad is long gone. Male wild wolfblood's don't stay around like the females. Bryn once told me that Father's come and go, mothers stay, they were mostly like that, the ones that I met. But it's my Mum that's important. She is head of ALL the wild wolfblood's. Hundreds of them."

"Hundreds? My family too?"

"No. Your family are Tame. It's only the wild ones that honour her." He went on to explain, "Mum told me that hundreds and hundreds of years ago, when wolfblood's or werewolves were hunted, they banded together to prevent persecution. They all lived wild, well, humans lived pretty wild back then too. Eventually, as humans industrialised there was a split in the wolfblood's. Those who wanted to continue to live in the wild way and those who wanted to be more like the humans, the Tames. There was a leader of the wolfblood's was called Lyall who had two sons, Fillin and Marrok, Fillin and Marrok disagreed on how much Wolfblood's should integrate with the humans. They split the pack and the Wolfblood world. There was practically a war over it. Fillin believed that the wolfblood's should be free and wild and Marrok could see the advantages of living within the human world. They became the leaders of their respective packs. My mother is a direct descendent of Fillin."

Rhydian had spoken carefully, gently, this was a story he had prepared to tell me but it was had to take in, I was stunned into silence. This wasn't something I had heard in Mr. Jeffries history lessons. I knew that wolfblood's had a history of their own but I had never considered the details.

I hardly knew what to say next. "So Ceri is the pack leader. Like a Queen...?" I was thinking out loud.

"Yes. I suppose so."

"Then that makes you, as her eldest son, her heir."

"Yes."

"You'll lead the wild wolfblood's."

"Yes."

"Wow."

I was stunned into silence.

"Maddy, there is more."

More? What more.

Rhydian continued "Your Gran is a direct descendent of Marrok."

"I don't understand. What are you telling me?" There was a tremble in my voice.

"Maddy, one day you will be the leader of the Tame wolfblood's. Your Gran is now. That is why she has been travelling, she's been visiting Tame wolfblood's, keeping an eye on them. Making sure they are OK."

"Don't be daft. My Gran is not some sort of high and mighty wolfy leader..." My voice trailed off as I looked at Rhydian. He held my gaze steadily.

"That's not all, is it?" I could tell that there was more to come.

"No, there's more. The reason why Bryn went for you and not for me is that all he could see was you. Every time I used Eolas it was always you, my dreams were all you. I couldn't get you out of my head. It nearly drove me insane! Then Mum explained..."

Rhydian swallowed and looked me in the eyes.

"There's a prediction, that all wolfblood's will be united by two decedents of Fillin and Marrok. You and me, Maddy."

"But... but... my family has lived in our house for over 300 years...Surly I would know if I was related to wolfblood royalty?"

"Long time to stay put for a wolfblood Maddy, even a Tame. Your father's family had the house. They were loyal to the decedents of Marrok and so they have been protected, not had to move on so much, kept to the old ways, using a Keeper, occasionally a Witch."

"So Bryn is jealous because you fancy me?" I spat.

"Think about it Maddy, as far as Bryn and a lots of the other wild wolfblood's are concerned I have been effectively raised as a Tame, spent time with a Tame pack, the prediction says that I will join with a Tame to unite both packs. They think that we won't protect their wild way of life, that we will insist that they become Tame and integrate with the human world. I broke a promise to them that I wouldn't come back, I wouldn't spend time with the Tames but I just couldn't keep away. I had to find you again. See you. Be with you. Maddy, we are the future. We have a future together, a job to do to protect our way of life. To protect the Wolfblood's."

I threw the sleeping bag off and stood up, pacing backwards and forwards.

"This is just plain crazy." I shouted "You're telling me that because of some silly prediction I can't have my own life? That I have to take over the responsibility of leading every known wolfblood in the universe and ensuring their safety? That I am going to be with you no matter what!" I was flinging my arms about, pacing backwards and forwards, throwing a teenage hissy fit.

Rhydian looked really hurt. I could feel the tremble in my legs and fingers.

"I'm only telling you what I've been told Maddy and why I came back."

My eyes were changing, my teeth bared. I could feel my fingernails claw.

"Mads, NO! Bryn and Ceri are still out there." It was too late, I had changed.

As I turned I caught a glimpse of Rhydian stand and start to change too. I bounded for the low stone garden wall, clearing it and the ditch behind in a single leap.

A low groaning cry brought me up short. I had been off and running, as hard and as fast as I could towards the woods, but the noise coming from back in the garden pulled at me from deep inside.

I turned and leapt back into the garden. Rhydian had changed into a wolf and was now lying on the grass just in front of the seat. He whimpered with pain. His shoulder. He had tried to run on it and it wasn't healed properly yet. I changed back to my human body and covered the couple of paces between us, reaching out for him, down on my knees by his head.

He changed back too.

"Maddy" he whispered, "I'm sorry." Gasping for breath he was reaching for me too. I bent and kissed him.

I helped him up and we returned to the seat, our arms round each other as he cradled his arm tightly to him to protect his shoulder. We both sat down breathing hard.

"You came back" he finally said.

I was stunned. I never stopped running as a wolf until I was exhausted. I'd come back. I'd changed back. I'd come back to Rhydian.

I had calmed down a bit now. I was still freaked but calmer.

"Maddy, do you trust me?" asked Rhydian.

I laughed, "NO!"

"Maddy" he said, tuning my face towards him and looking deep into my eyes, "Please trust me."

He slowly moved his lips to mine and kissed me tenderly. He then gently kissed my forehead and then he moved his forehead to mine and closed his eyes.

I closed my eyes too.

Suddenly my head was filled with images; I gasped but didn't move away. Rhydian was showing me images of Ceri telling him what he had just told me, about the brothers Fillin and Marrok, the wolfblood heritage and the prediction.

Rhydian had been furious when Ceri had told him what his future held and the reasons why. He had changed into a wolf and run for miles and miles into the forest. He had lived alone and wild for days after they had talked.

Eventually he had returning to his pack. Frustrated and confused he had hoped to find answers but Ceri had made it clear that she didn't want him to return to me, that the wild wolfblood's thought that Rhydian was to Tame to lead them and they we would both try and turn them all Tame.

I could feel what he had felt. The shock and then the rage and anger. Finally the longing. To come back. Back to me.

Rhydian stroked the side of my face as he moved away from me. I opened my eyes and looked into his. He kissed me again gently.

Slowly the sun came up over the tops of the woods.

I could hear Mam walk down the stairs back in the cottage. She would be wondering where we were. We were both still on the bench tucked around each other, the sleeping bag pulled back over us, warm and comfortable. We weren't talking now. Rhydian had showed me his deepest thoughts and feelings and now we just sat peacefully.

I could hear Mam pottering around the kitchen, getting things out and starting to cook.

"We should go back in" I said, sitting up and stretching.

"Yep" He agreed.

As I opened the door, Mam looked up and smiled. "Hello you two, you feeling hungry? Thanks for the note Rhydian, I'd have been worried if I'd seen you both gone."

Rhydian was smiling sheepishly.

"Happy birthday Pet" said Mam, coming to give me a hug.

"Birthday?" questioned Rhydian.

"Ta Da!" I answered, "Sixteen today."

"Wow! Happy Birthday!" he pulled me into a one armed hug and planted a kiss on my cheek.

I blushed deeply again, glancing at my mother through my eyelashes, she raised an eyebrow at us both.

Gran had appeared at the bottom of the stairs and also wished me a happy birthday giving me a hug and kiss and again holding me at arms' length to examine me fully. She had a small knowing small on her face and nodded once.

Gran went and put on the kettle while Mam turned back to cooking a large full English breakfast. Dad meandered down the stairs rubbing sleep from his eyes.

"Morning" he grunted.

"Presents on the table Pet" said Mam.

"Oh Mam, Thank you" I answered shyly, turning to see the gifts and cards on the kitchen table.

I sat down and opened the first gift from Gran. A small box containing square cut moonstone ring. "Oh Gran, it's beautiful, thank you so much" I said slipping the ring onto the middle finger of my right hand.

Then a couple of cards from family and friends.

Finally the larger present from my parents. It was a brand new laptop. I was blown away.

"Thank you so much" I gushed.

"We thought it might come in useful for doing your A-levels next term" said Mam pointedly.

So Mam knew about this prediction of what my future would hold and wasn't keen for it to happen anytime soon. The realisation hit me and I took a gasp of breath. Dad was looking at his feet, Gran was intently stirring her cup of tea. Did they both know too?

Rhydian had been sitting quietly next to me, he now whispered "I didn't get you anything"

"It's ok" I said under my breath, "your here". He quickly squeezed my hand under the table.

I was distracted. How would my parents feel about my future with Rhydian?

Mam dished out the full English breakfast.

Rhydian was managing to eat despite only really using one hand. The conversation was light and chatty, Gran asking Rhydian how he was feeling, Dad asking more about Gran's travels.

I had a tight feeling in my stomach, I pushed the food around my plate eating little.

"So" said Gran pointedly when Rhydian and my Dad had finished eating. "You've told her then?" she asked Rhydian.

"Yes, this morning" He answered. They had clearly had a conversation about this without my knowledge.

Mam suddenly couldn't stay silent any longer.

"We don't know that Rhydian is the one, all we know is that the prediction says that the 15th descendent of Marrok and the 15th descendent of Fillin unite the packs and bring an end to the war with the creation of a child. It doesn't mean it's Rhydian, he's barely wild, he's spent more time Tame than wild. Besides Maddy is far too young to think about that kind of future right now. It's all silliness anyway, just superstition." All this came out in a rush of words that Mam had clearly been bottling up for the last two days.

I leapt to my feet.

A child.

I turned on Rhydian, "A baby?!" I spat.

"Might not have mentioned that bit..." I heard Rhydian mutter as I headed out of the door.

No way. It was bad enough I was giving up my future to bring together two factions, a war Mam had called it, but a baby?! There was no way I was ready for that.

I ran as hard and fast as I could. Shannon's house. That was where I was heading.

8


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER FIVE**

It was still early but Shannon's bedroom window was slightly ajar. I jumped up to it making her jump.

I was in a state; words tumbled from me before I even got through the window.

"There's a prediction, Shannon. Rhydian and I have produce a child and unite the Tame and the wild wolfblood's. There is no way I am ready for that, I mean I'm about to sit my GCSE's for goodness sake, there is no way that they can put this one us, on me, why on earth haven't my Mam and Dad told me about this? Why didn't Gran tell me that one day I would lead the Tame wolfblood's? You're a Witch, Tom is a Keeper, and it looks like they want me to become a Mummy. I don't flippin' think so. I mean I love Rhydian to bits but we only shared our first kiss this morning. I not ready to be Mrs Morris just yet, thank you very much. This is all too much. Grrrrr." All I could do in the end was growl.

Shannon was sitting on her bed, books about her. Of course, we had exams tomorrow.

"OK", she said after taking a deep breath, "One thing at a time. Firstly I'm going to make you a cup of tea and then I going to get the vacuum cleaner and clear up the mess you have just made."

I glanced behind me, I had left a trail of dusty footprints from the window still across her desk and in a path where I had been pacing the floor.

"Then I think you have better start at the beginning".

"Sorry" I mumbled standing still and removing my boots. I suddenly realised that I wasn't even dressed; I was still in my pyjamas and the thick socks and boots I had pulled on to go out into the garden with Rhydian this morning. I had grabbed my coat as I had bolted out of the house.

We wandered downstairs to put the kettle on.

"You really are a Witch aren't you Shannon" I smiled as I took the steaming strong brew from her "tea is just the right potion".

She laughed back at me. "Apparently so" she shrugged. "Now I think you had better tell me what has been going on. You and Rhydian kissed?" Shannon gave me a broad grin, a note of mock shock in her voice.

I looked down and concentrated on stirring a spoon of sugar into my tea.

"Umm" I assented. "Are your Mam and Dad here?" I suddenly realised that I had magically appeared without knocking on the front door.

"No, they left early to go on a coach trip to York" reassured Shannon. "Now start talking!"

We sat down at the kitchen table with our tea and I began by telling how Rhydian had woken me early to go outside to the garden and how he had told me about Lyall and his sons, Fillin and Marrok, about how we were decedents of the first sets of wild and Tame wolfblood's.

"He came back for you?" asked Shannon.

"Yes" was my simple answer. I took a deep breath and told Shannon what Rhydian had told me about the prediction; that we would unite to bring an end to the conflict between the wilds and the Tames.

Shannon was sitting quietly listening intently.

I went on to explain how Rhydian had lived with Ceri and Bryn, why Bryn had wanted to attack me and how Rhydian had got in his way to protect me.

"You said more upstairs though Maddy. About a baby?" Shannon said quietly.

"That was my Mam this morning. She gave me more details, that Rhydian and I are the 15th descendents of Fillin and Marrok and that the prediction said that we would have child that would end the war."

"War?" questioned Shannon.

"Yer, I know, Rhydian had said that when Marrok and Fillin had split there had _almost_ been a war but Mam said that it like there was an ongoing battle. She was livid though."

"And a baby? How did Rhydian react? Did he know that part of the prediction?"

"Rhydian seemed to think it was all a big joke, as I was leaving I heard him say 'I didn't mention that part', so I think he knew, well it's ok for him isn't it? He told me that he didn't find out anything about his father, that Bryn had told him when they first met that Mother's stay and Fathers come and go... Nothing for him to worry about then, he walks away a uniting hero" I ended sadly.

"It doesn't mean that you have to trip down the aisle and start reproducing now though does it? The prediction just says that you will have a baby."

"Mam was pretty mad though, I think she was furious with Rhydian and Gran for not being able to tell me herself. She said we couldn't even be sure that the prediction that Rhydian is the wild wolfblood."

Shannon's phone began to ring upstairs in her bedroom so I trailed up after her as she went to answer it.

"It was Tom" said Shannon, "he is coming over to revise and he's bringing your birthday present too, sorry Maddy I forgot with all the excitement. Happy birthday."

Shannon gave me a hug and reached up onto a shelf in her bedroom and lifted down a gift wrapped package and a card.

"Thanks' Shannon" I smiled as I opened the gift.

It was a small hardback book called 'The Duchess of Northumberland's Little Book of Poisons, Potions and Aphrodisiacs'.

"If I told you that I had bought it weeks ago would you believe me?" giggled Shannon.

"No!" I laughed. "A true Witch, Shannon."

I cleared a couple of folders from the bed and sat down flicking through the book. Shannon picked up her History notes and began reading them.

"Oh..."I groaned, "History AND maths tomorrow..." I'd forgotten all about Exams this weekend.

"Want to do a bit of revision while you're here?"

"Yer, why not. Might take my mind off things at home."

We sat down with the books opened and began to test each other ready for tomorrow's history exam. There wasn't any point doing much Math's practice with Shannon as she was so many sets ahead of us.

Tom arrived and Shannon nipped down stairs to let him in. He was still yawning.

"I hate revising for exam's" He grumbled.

"Happy birthday Maddy", he smiled handing me a giant bag of sweets and a card.

"Thanks' Tom" I grinned back.

"So what's new?" He questioned. "I didn't realised you would be joining us today Maddy".

We filled Tom in on my dramatic entrance into Shannon's house that morning and the reasons behind it. I suddenly felt very tired and hungry, I'd been awake since 4am and it had caught up with me. My body clock thought that it was lunchtime.

"Any more Tea Shannon?" I requested.

We all ambled downstairs and Shannon popped the kettle on again. Tom looked longingly at the biscuit tin until Shannon opened it and offered it around.

"Another one Maddy?" queried Shannon as I took my 5th chocolate biscuit. "Are you eating for two already?"

Tom nearly choked on his tea. "WHAT?!"

"Ah... yes... we didn't tell you about that bit of the prediction" I mumbled into my tea mug. I took a deep breath and explained what Mam had told us over breakfast.

Tom suddenly looked furious.

"No Way." He said. "There is no way that your parents are going to let that happen. Your Dad would be after Rhydian with an Axe before he let him anywhere near you, and as for your Mam, she'll tear him apart with her bare hands, wolf or not!"

"OH NO!" I yelled. "I left Rhydian at home with my Mam and Dad! They will kill him!" I was suddenly frightened.

I bolted for the door.

"Call us if you need us" yelled Shannon after me.

I raced home as fast as I could. As much as I was angry with Rhydian for not telling me about that particular part of this mystical prediction I was suddenly worried about my parent's reaction to him. They had never been keen on Rhydian. Maybe this was the reason why. Mam had even gone so far as to try and ban me from seeing Rhydian in the past until he had tried to find me when I had run away from home into the city. Fortunately Mam had found me but it hadn't been through lack of trying on Rhydian's part. Even so, Mam and Dad had still been cool towards Rhydian as he had rejected the Tame ways.

I hadn't asked them how they felt about Rhydian's return, they had looked after him and cared for him with Gran's help but I still wasn't sure that they would welcome him into the pack if necessary.

I crept into the kitchen holding my breath.

Mam and Gran were watching something on the TV, Mam was laughing her head off! When I looked it was a home video, they were watching Gran's travel film. I could hear Dad working away in his workshop across the yard. Where was Rhydian, my stomach flipped with worry.

"Hello Pet" said Mam, wiping tears away from her eyes "You have to see this, your Gran's travels have been amazing." I hung my coat up on a hook by the front door.

"I...I..." I was confused. Mam had clearly calmed down loads but where was Rhydian?

"He's fine love" said Gran, reading my mind. "He's upstairs having a rest. I'm guessing you have a lot of questions right now, shall we all have a chat?"

Mam reached to turn the video off and I went to sit down. I perched on the edge of the sofa, sitting on my hands to hide my nerves. What were they going to tell me this time? This had already been such a long day.

"I'm sorry I stormed out this morning" I mumbled to Mam and Gran.

"I'm sorry to Pet, I shouldn't have launched everything on you like that. It wasn't fair to not explain things to you. Your Gran and I have had a good chat and she calmed me down! I sometimes forget that my little girl is growing up."

My heart was pounding now – did Mam really expect me to go through with this plan? Gran must have seen the fear in my face as she continued.

"There are two things that you need to know Maddy" she said assuredly, "firstly that nothing is set in stone. You have the power to decide your own future, just the same as all of us. This prediction was made a long time ago when people saw the world in a very different way. The second thing is that nothing needs to happen immediately. You're only sixteen; you've got a whole lot of living to do first before you need to get involved with any of your duties."

"Duties?" My voice sounded constricted.

"Well, yes, leading the wolfblood's does have some responsibilities. You need to ensure the safety of the wider pack, settle petty territorial disputes. The packs will look to you as their leader to maintain the rules and ensure their safety.

"But your Mam will take on the role before you and she will have to get me out of the way first, and I'm not planning on going anywhere for a VERY long time yet. It will be decades before you take over that role."

"How could I not have known about this? Why did you not tell me?" I was almost begging Mam, tears now filling my eyes. I was tired and hungry and suddenly the exhaustion hit me. I began to tremble with fatigue.

Mam slid across the sofa and slipped her arms around me. I relaxed into her hug and began to cry. Everything that had happened in the last 48 hours rattled through my head... Deciding that I was giving up pining after Rhydian to find him standing in front of me; to the attack by Bryn and fearing that I might lose him again and being so scared; learning the truth about Shannon and Tom had been enormous. It would take us all weeks to get our heads around those revelations. The relief when I realised that Rhydian was going to be OK and that he was back here. Then Rhydian's talk with me this morning, our kiss, my feelings for him, finally Mam's digression this morning.

I was so overwhelmed. I'm not sure I could take in any more information.

Finally my crying turned to weeping and I had cried myself out. Mam was gently rubbing my back, Gran had been to fetch some tissue for my eyes and nose.

"Feel a bit better Pet?" questioned Gran.

I nodded. I did feel a bit better for a good cry and a hug with Mam.

"It's such a lot to take in Pet, I'm not surprised you feel a bit bombarded." smiled Gran generously. Both she and Mam looked so concerned.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I muttered. I wasn't angry any more, just hurt.

"Well," began Mam, "the truth is that me didn't really know how much of it was true, so many of these old tales can be mumbo jumbo, Chinese whispers that have been passed down through generations can become contorted through time. We do know that we are the direct decedents of Marrok and that your Gran is currently the pack leader. As her only child I will take over that role when she... well, you know" Mam cleared her throat, Gran smiled at us both, "and as my only child the role will fall to you. It's traditional rather than anything ceremonial really. We don't really hold any power as such; it's just that we are able to trace the line back.

"We weren't sure that Rhydian would be the wild wolfblood of the prediction, though we knew about Ceri and who she was. Your Dad and I were quite surprised when she appeared out of nowhere. We were terrified that Shannon and Tom would expose us after seeing you all transform in the woods and then Rhydian disappeared with Ceri and you were so upset at everything going on".

Gran continued the story. "The prediction was made at the time of the split of the wolfblood's, by the Keeper that protected the pack at that time. The story goes that the Keeper was torn between the two packs. To be a Keeper or a Witch is a mystical choice, we don't know how they are chosen or how they become associated with the packs but sometimes packs go looking for them, sometimes the Keeper or the Witch will go looking for their Packs and sometimes, like with Shannon and Tom they all just find each other.

The prediction that was made was that the packs would one day be united again under a single leader that was neither wild nor Tame, that had been brought forth by the 15th direct descendent of the first wild and a Tame wolfblood, one male and one female. It is assumed that it means that they will join together and produce a child.

"But pet," jumped in Mam, "There isn't a timescale specified, you have got years before you need to think out settling down and worrying about this. It may not even mean a child. The prediction says that the leader will be _brought forth_, that could simply mean that you and Rhydian decide who leads the packs. It might mean a wolfblood, a Keeper, a Witch or even a human..." Mam was floundering now, I could tell. Grasping at straws to re-assure me.

"It does not mean a baby." She said determinedly.

"Well, not for now anyway" added Gran, looking at Mam pointedly.

I didn't know what to say. I wasn't convinced, why had she said it in the first place? There was so much to take in but I at least felt reassured that whatever was going to happen would be a bit more under my control. I felt like there was still so much I had to learn, about our history and about our future.

7


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPER SIX**

Dad appeared at lunch time and we all ate soup and sandwiches. When I had finished mine I took some up to Rhydian. He was asleep on the bed when I crept into the room.

He looked younger when he was asleep, calmer and more tranquil. He was curled onto his side, still holding his arm and shoulder in an awkward position but he didn't look to be in pain.

I was still angry with him for holding out on the details of the prediction, it was clear why he hadn't told me about the baby thing. He had told me himself; wild wolfblood males didn't hang around. I hadn't mentioned this fear to Mam, she would be livid if I had confirmed what she was worrying about. It didn't matter if it was now or in ten years time, the likely hood was that I would be a single parent at some point according to Rhydian.

He woke up as I put the tray of food down.

"Lunch" I stated.

"Thank you" he yawned and stretched.

"I'm going to have a shower and get dressed" I stamped out of the room before he could talk to me.

I felt better now I was dressed and clean again but I was tired after our early start and I was still upset with Rhydian. I pulled my books out and tried to concentrate on revising for my exams tomorrow. I felt so tired with all the emotional stress of the last few days I could have put my head on my pillow and nodded off. To keep myself awake I opened the window and began walking round the room with my folder in my hand reading my notes and repeating the important facts out loud.

"Unusual revision technique" Rhydian appeared at the door startling me. Making me jump didn't endear him to me.

"I'm busy" I snapped at him.

His face fell. "Are you made at me Maddy?" He queried, looking hurt.

"You could have told me the rest of the prediction Rhydian." I sighed with frustration. "It's all right for you isn't it? You just get all the glory and none of the responsibility... The all conquering hero who produces the heir that unites all the wolfblood's and then returns to his wild side. I'm amazed Dad didn't rip you limb from limb. Actually, I'm amazed that Mam didn't just go straight for your throat, wolf or human..." I added sarcastically.

"Oh, I see" said Rhydian quietly, "That's what you think is going to happen... That I'm going to leave you again..."

"Well aren't you? You have before".

Rhydian took a deep breath. "No Maddy. I'm not going to leave you. Your Mam was right when she spoke to you earlier, I could hear her when I was lying in bed. Nothing needs to happen about the prediction right now. We can both live our lives and worry about the future when it happens. But when it does happen Maddy, when whatever happens, happens, I promise I'm not going to leave."

I looked at him doubtfully.

"Maddy," he continued "I grew up in the care system. The longest time I spent in any one place was just over a year and then I got shipped out to another set of foster parents, or another children's home, always changing, never settling down, never making friends, never having family. Not knowing who I was, where I came from or where I belonged. Do you think I want that for a child of mine?" He paused and bit his lip.

"Maddy, I want what you've had, what you've got. A Mam and Dad that love each other and that love you to bits. I want any child to grow up with two parents and a family that loves them, secure and happy. Maddy, I can promise you this, that when the time comes for me to have children, with you or with anyone else I _will_ stick around, I will be the best father a wolf cub can have."

He had spoken with such passion that his eyes had begun to change to wolf yellow. I crossed the room to him and slipped my arms around his waist.

"I'm sorry" I whispered, looking up into his face. "I'm sorry doubted you."

We kissed until we were both breathless.

"This weekend wasn't exactly as you planned was it?" Rhydian smiled as he glanced over at the books and note strewn over my bed and desk.

"Ohhhhh" I groaned. "Exams. Tomorrow."

"What subject?"

"History and then Maths in the afternoon. I don't stand a chance in Maths anyway so I was concentrating on history. "

"So, what have I missed? Much in here about an epic battle between ancient leaders that lead to a century's long war between two opposing factions?" Rhydian took my hand and lead me towards to bed.

"Yer, loads" I grinned, "Sadly not about Marrok and Fillin though."

"Catch me up then." Rhydian moved a couple of books and made a space for us to sit on the bed. "The best way to learn is to teach" He shrugged.

"20th century history" I began "we are starting with the assignation of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in the former Yugoslavia in June 1914..."

"Bring it on" he gestured, sitting back and making himself comfortable ready for the lecture.

I steadily talked my way through dates, places, people, battles, treaties and the unlikely success of the Home Guard defending our shores should Britain have been invaded by Nazi troops. Rhydian interjected with queries about details and helped me keep the history linier when I jumped between facts.

He was right; talking through it, teaching the details to him helped me. I realised how much I did know and we both looked up the bits and pieces I didn't either in my text books or online.

At some point he scooted across the bed and I sat down next to him while we poured over a text book together.

It felt so good to be next to him. It was hard to concentrate. I could feel the warmth of his body, smell the clean outdoor scent of his skin and the sunlight of his hair. I was tucked under his arm, curled sitting with my legs over his, my head under his chin again. I felt so safe here; I fitted so naturally into this space. His fingers played absently with the end of my hair.

"It's grown" he murmured in the middle of my monologue about the D-day landings.

"What?" I queried.

"Your hair. It's grown. It's longer."

"Yes," I smiled, looking up at him. "So has yours!"

"Humm" He mused. "I suppose so. We've changed so much Maddy. It's been over a year since I've seen you. We should barely know each other. We only had those few months when we were friends. I hardly know you really. Your world is so different from mine has been. All this" He said gesturing to my books and notes "it's all so human. So _normal._"

My moth was suddenly dry. What was he saying? He didn't know me? He didn't want to be here?

"The pull to come back here..." He continued, "It was over whelming. All I could think about was you and being here, you were in my dreams, every time I used Eolas my mind would flick here first."

"You were spying on me?" I questioned.

"Not intentionally Mads, I couldn't help it. There you were, inside my head. You drove me crazy! It's no wonder Bryn went for you, he is jealous as hell. He still doubts who I am, that I am the rightful leader of the wild wolfblood's, I'm not sure I'm convinced myself, what kind of crazy messed up leader would I make? I know so little about the wild wolfblood's; how can I lead them? Protect them? Every time I used Eolas to communicate with the pack they would see you first, feel the feelings that I had for you first." Rhydian squirmed uncomfortable next to me. Talking about his feelings like this was so hard for him.

"I don't understand it" He muttered. "I had to get back here. They had harangued me for months, Mum and the other wild wolfblood's, wearing me down, telling me that Tame wolfblood's would destroy our way of life, crush the wolf, eventually stop the transformations and suppress the urge to be free. I love being out there, running wild, but there are still responsibilities, still a role in the pack. Hunting, providing shelter, keeping the pack safe from the humans. I still don't know where I fit."

"Tell me about the others in the pack?" I requested, suddenly interested in my wild cousins.

"Some come and go, some stay around for longer. Toby and Rocky, both bonkers, came and went a bit, Rocky is teenager in the body of an old man! Bouncing on his feet all the time, most of his teeth are missing which makes him look odd when he transforms. Toby, his brother I think, I kept my distance from, he was strange, he has wall eyes."

"Wall eyes?" I queried.

"Where one eye is brown and the other blue. It makes him look crazy even when he isn't a wolf. They both had really issued with me, Mum had to work hard to ensure they didn't forget their place in the pack.

There is a girl called Otter who comes and goes too. She is the best hunter, you can't hear her coming, she can out run even me as a wolf. Bert has been a part of the pack for a long time, since just after Bryn arrived I think, he and his daughter, Grace, stayed with Bryn when Mum came looking for me. Grace is about our age, she took it upon herself to ensure that I had every wild wolfblood experience. She is so quiet when she hunts, more like a cat than a wolf, she can get into the smallest of spaces to seek out prey and up in the trees she is amazing, you can't even see her when you are up close to her."

I suddenly felt the hairs on the back of my neck and along my arms rise and prickle. They way he spoke about her, with such admiration and affection.

Rhydian continued "Others came and went, girl called Lela with a little boy, Benjamin, they didn't stay with us for long. Some stayed for a few days or weeks, others just a few hours as they were passing through. Some like Janet and Morris came back only at full moon."

"Janet and Morris?! They don't sound like wild wolfblood's!"

"Yer, I know, you're thinking they had matching home knit jerseys and a caravan? But they were actually really cool. They had lived most of their lives wild, they turned when their parents tried to stop them marrying when they were younger, dead romantic." Said Rhydian.

I yawned deeply. "Stop it," said Rhydian, "Your making me yawn too" he suppressed a big stretch.

"Tired?" He questioned.

"It's been a long weekend" I smiled.

We both sat quietly and I felt my eye lids grow heavy.

It was so good to be curled up next to him, warm and safe. No matter what happened, what our future was I was sure that we would be together.

The alarm woke me early next morning. I felt better for a decent night's sleep in my own bed (Poor Gran had kindly offered to take my place on the sofa, insisting that I needed my bed the night before exams).

I had dozed in Rhydian's arms for an hour yesterday afternoon and then we had been woken by Dad shouting upstairs that dinner was ready. Mam and Gran had cooked a huge joint of beef with all the trimmings. Shannon and Tom joined us for a birthday supper. It had been relaxed and fun after I had caught them up with the chats I had had with Mam and Gran, and then with Rhydian. We had all enjoyed the meal and listening to Gran's tails of her travels. Dad was on very good form, all things considered (the appearance of another wolfblood, who was suddenly his only daughters boyfriend and with a prediction that they may or may not in the future have a child could have understandably made him a bit twitchy). Mam was still quiet though but I wasn't surprised by that. It had been a big weekend for all of us.

So, now I was on my way to school with Shannon and Tom. About to sit more exams, history this morning and then dreaded Maths this afternoon. Rhydian had offered to 'help' as he put it, he said that if I got stuck then I could always zone out and use Eolas to contact him and look up whatever I was stuck on, but I had shaken my head in disapproval. No. I wouldn't cheat.

We sat through registration quietly then made our way down to the gym that had been set up as an exam hall. Shannon was reciting names and dates under her breath until Tom snapped at her to stop. I admit it wasn't helping the rest of us.

The 'K's were looking nervous, I tried to stop myself from judging but they really weren't the most academic amongst us, well, except Kara who had flirted with becoming a nerd when she showed an aptitude for Chemistry but as she had nearly burned the science block down with Shannon, it hadn't lasted long.

Jimi was looking cocky as usual, his future was secure no matter what grades he got, he would follow his Dad into the very successful family business but I knew that his Dad put him under a lot of pressure to get good grades.

I felt nervous; my stomach was churning and tied in knots. I hated exams. I felt confined and claustrophobic trapped for an hour and a half.

I stood quietly with Shannon and Tom out of the way.

The doors opened and in we all shuffled.

"Leave your bags and coats at the side of the room please. All you will need are pens and pencils and a ruler in a clear bag. You may have a clear bottle of water with you but the label must be removed. Please ensure that all mobile phones and other electronic devices are secure in your bags AND TURNED OFF." Barked Mr Jeffers at us. Standard exam conditions.

"Find your numbered tables as quickly as you can please." He continued.

I felt light headed. My heart was pounding in my chest. I wanted to open the door and run. The room was stuffy and the windows right at the top of wood clad walls didn't offer much by the way of fresh air. Despite the lack of chatter, it was still noisy and echoed to the sound of us all putting our bags out of the way and the scrape of chairs and tables.

"Good luck" Shannon whispered to Tom and me. I nodded mutely back to her, I felt so sick I was afraid to open my mouth.

"Come on, come on, find your places please" commanded Miss Fitzgerald.

I found my table and sat down, carefully arranging my pens and pencils on the table next to a bottle of water and my ruler and pencil sharpener.

Mr Jeffers began to talk us through the usual exam procedure, no cheating, hand up if you needed to go out, how long the exam would last and what time it would start and end.

"The teachers are passing out the exam papers and answer booklets now. You MAY NOT turn them over until I say."

My heart was really pounding now. Maybe I should have take Rhydian up on his offer of _support._

Rhydian. I'd hoped to do more revision this weekend until he had come back and disrupted it all. I expected a flash of anger but it didn't come.

In fact the more I thought about Rhydian, the better I felt. The more I thought about what had happened this weekend I began to feel calmer.

What did it matter what grade I got in a silly little history exam? Or any exam for that matter? My future was set. I could get up and walk out of here now and it wouldn't matter one jot. My future was as a wolfblood. My future was with Rhydian.

I felt a calm warmth flood through me. My limbs relaxed and the knots eased out of my tummy.

It didn't make any difference what I wrote on the exam paper so I may as well go for it. I'd worked hard throughout the year. I'd done as much revision as I could over the weekend given the circumstances. All I could do was my best.

I looked up at Mr Jerffers at the front of the gym. "You have an hour and a half. Please turn over your papers. You may begin."


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

We bundled out of the afternoon Maths exam with a sense of relief. That was one of the worst exams over with.

My feeling of calm had continued. Once I had reaslised that I only had to satisfy myself with the work I had put in, it took the pressure off. I thought today's exams had gone well. Without the fog of stress and worry, my mind had been clear and I was able to take my time and focus on the questions and answers.

Tom was analysing every question but he always did. I don't know why he put us through it every time? Especially as Shannon would only tell him how he should have answered the questions. Talk about stressful!

"Do you fancy a quick milkshake at Bernie's?" asked Shannon.

"Or do you want to get back?" smiled Tom at me, a knowing glint in his eye.

"I don't know..." I hesitated... I did want to get back to Rhydian but he was planning on going to try and find Ceri and Bryn this afternoon. I didn't know if I wanted to be around for that or not. As much as I wanted to get back to Rhydian, I wanted to put him off going to find his family.

The pull was too strong though. I wanted to check on Rhydian more.

"Sorry, I'm going to get back" I mumbled.

"That's OK" Shannon reassured "we'll see you tomorrow for English".

"Have a good evening" Tom flashed a wicked grin my way "call if you need us" he added suddenly serious. His instinct was tuned into my concern.

I turned and ran for home.

Rhydian was in the workshop chatting to my Dad when I got back.

"Hello pet" Dad smiled at me "How did it go today?"

"Good. Really good". I dumped my bag on the floor and hopped to sit on the workbench next to Rhydian. He bumped me with his good arm and gave me a quick grin. It was enough to make me blush and look at my hands.

"What are you working on Dad?" I said, quickly diverting him from Rhydian's gaze.

"A new bench for the Village Hall Garden in Stoneybridge. It's a commission from the WI, in memory of one of their members. I'm making one the same as your Mam's in the orchard".

Rhydian and I glanced quickly at each other; we both looked away quickly, smiling. We were remembering that kiss.

We watched Dad plane and sand a large plank of wood, following the natural contours of the grain and working with the shapes of the bark.

"Ceri has been to the edge of the woods" said Dad still working on the wood, he was trying to be casual "I could smell her this morning. She must be worried about you Rhydian."

"I must go and speak to her" Rhydian said quietly.

I was worried about him going, anxious that he wouldn't return. Rhydian had said that Ceri hadn't wanted him to return her in the first place. Would they force him to go away again? Keep him away from me? My stomach was back in knots again.

"Do you want me to come with you?" I asked, I didn't know if I wanted the answer to be yes or no.

"No. I think I'd better go on my own".

Rhydian hopped down from the bench and pecked me quickly on the cheek, not looking at Dad.

"It might take me a while to find them on foot, I'm no good on four legs for a while" shrugged Rhydian.

"Howl if you need us" said Dad with a resigned smile.

Rhydian turned and ambled out of the door.

I stayed with Dad in the workshop, helping him with the bench. Passing him tools and watching him work. Chatting about school, how the exams had gone, what had come up in them and what exams I had left to take.

It took over an hour before Rhydian reappeared. I heard him come out of the woods and cross to open the garden gate, wolfblood super-hearing is cool.

I was back sitting on the bench drinking a cup of tea with Dad that he had made from his supplies in the workshop. Tea in there always tasted different from tea anywhere else, it was strong and sweet, the thick mugs were never really properly washed out and everything had a hint of wood and dust.

Rhydian ambled back into the workshop, able to find us easily using his wolf sense.

I looked at Dad, he was sniffing the air as I was. Rhydian didn't smell of Ceri or Bryn.

"You didn't find them?" I questioned.

"No." He said, he sounded confused and hurt. "I could find their scent and follow it but each time I got close it was like they were just out of reach. They turned into wolves and went up on to the moors. I couldn't keep up so I came back here. His shoulders were slumped and he seemed upset.

"I'm not surprised" said Dad "I doubt they will trust you for a while, especially as you can't transform. They will know that you are OK; their scent is close enough to the house that they would have been able to see and hear us. Besides we have the Pentagram..." Dad smiled, looking smug.

I shrugged at Rhydian. I didn't have a clue what Dad was talking about. Rhydian looked just as confused as me.

"Go on then Dad, tell us what the _Pentagram_ is" I couldn't help the sarcasm in my voice. I had been amazed by so much over the last few days. What was a bit more magic?

"A five pointed star?" questioned Rhydian. I looked at him surprised. He simply shrugged back at me and grinned.

"Yes" replied Dad, "your Gran realised as soon as she walked into the spare room the other night that the five of us were together for a reason."

"Five of us?" I questioned.

"But there were seven of us when Ellie came into the room?" finished Rhydian.

"OK, five of us not including you two" continued Dad. "A Witch, a Keeper and three Wolfblood's. Five of us that join together to protect you two. It comes from the time of the predictions, though Pentagram's have formed since then to protect Wolfblood's for various reasons. One was formed briefly when you were born because of the prediction. Except we had four wolfblood's and a Keeper, Your Granddad was the fourth member. The Wild wolfblood's were informed of your birth and a try of truce was negotiated. We didn't know that Ceri already had a son so we didn't feel that there was any threat. No one really took this prediction seriously until Ceri came back to find Rhydian. The pentagram didn't form for long officially as it wasn't really needed. Plus we lost your Granddad so soon afterwards..."

Dad looked sad. I would explain about how we had lost my grandfather to Rhydian later.

"Wow" said Rhydian. "So how does it work? How can the Pentagram protect us?" Is it all chanting and incantations then?"

"Yes!" Said Dad.

Both of our mouths dropped open with an audible pop.

"No!" confirmed Dad smiling at us, he was being sarcastic! "There is more to it than that, having a witch on board helps though. It's more like a collective consciousness, we decided that you are protected and therefore no wolfblood can harm you. If they did, and they would be fighting a mighty powerful urge to not hurt you, then the rest of the wolfblood's would turn on them. Ostracise them, outcast them, even hurt or kill them in order to protect you, or whoever was being protected by the pentagram. The Pentagram unites wild and Tame wolfblood's alike. Instinct will prevent a wolfblood from harming anyone under the protection."

"I didn't know that" stated Rhydian, "It explains a lot though. Why my Mum left Bryn in the care of five wolves, why she likes to keep five wolves in the pack. She didn't tell me the reason why."

"I wonder why she didn't tell you?... She must have known..." I mused.

"I'm sure there are lots of things that she hasn't told me. I didn't really believe her about the whole Witch and Keeper things until Ellie confirmed it."

"Do Tom and Shannon know?" I asked.

"I doubt it" said Dad.

"We should go and talk to them" Rhydian said hopping down from the workbench.

We all walked out of the workshop together.

"Maybe we'll go later..." muttered Rhydian, heading instead back towards the house.

I knew what he was thinking... Mam was cooking and it smelled delicious. There was no way that Rhydian could resist... but then again neither could I!

"After supper" I confirmed.

We both grinned at each other as we walked back down the stone path towards the kitchen, bumping shoulders as we went.

Later that evening we walked slowly to Shannon's house, enjoying the warm summer night. The wood was peaceful and quiet, just a few animals settling at the end of the day and others waking up for a busy night. The warm night intensified the scents in the air; I could almost taste the sap from the trees and the late blossom fading on the branches. I could smell that a fox had recently crossed our path; I know most humans didn't like the smell of a fox but I loved the musty earthy smell. It was natural.

Rhydian and I walked holding hands, it felt easy and natural, our fingers intertwined, his thumb rubbing gently inside my palm. We walked close together, our pace falling into step. We didn't need to talk, there had been enough good humoured banter around the kitchen table while Mam had served up supper.

Mam and Dad seemed much more relaxed with Rhydian's presence; I suspect that Gran had been having a couple of long chats with them both. It probably explained Dad's openness with Rhydian and me.

Rhydian's shoulder would still be sore for a good few days, so he couldn't transform into a wolf until it was healed, but we were just enjoying the evening and felt no need to run. I hadn't felt this contentment for a long time; since before my first change, since Rhydian had come into my life.

"How are we going to tell Shannon and Tom this one?" began Rydian as we made our way down a ridge towards the stream.

"I don't know but I don't think much will surprise them now, not after this weekend"

"I'm sorry it all came out in the wrong order Maddy" Rhydian said suddenly, squeezing my fingers. "It wasn't how I planned it in my head".

"Oh, and how did you plan it? Sweep me off my feet, kiss me madly and then tell me in order to save my fellow race I must procreate with you?! Oh and my bezzie mates are part of the universal salvage operation too?"

"Pretty much, Yer!" countered Rhydian "Except I didn't know about Shannon and Tom, only suspected and I'm not really convinced about any child of mine saving the future of every known wolfblood, if it's anything like me it will barely be able to tie its own shoe laces... Let's hope it takes after its mother hay?" Rhydian gave me a playful smirk.

I felt my heart skip a beat. I so wasn't ready to be thinking that far into the future yet.

Rhydian bumped me again with his arm.

"All in good time." He grinned broadly, "Just kidding, we have all the time in the world Maddy, there is so much that I want to do with my life, with you before we even need to think about that. Listening to your Gran talking about her travels... It sounded amazing."

"I know! Doesn't it?! I REALLY want to see some of those places. ALL of those places!" I could help get excited. Rhydian wanted to travel too.

"Yer, me too, wow, let's go."

"Now?" I questioned.

"Yep, right this minute! Pack your bag Mads, we're off to see the world... Except we wouldn't make it as far as the bus stop before your Mum was hauling us both back by the scruff of our necks!"

"You know her too well" I shrugged. "Besides, I have exams to take and we are on our way to see Shannon and Tom first..."

"Not just yet" Rhydian smiled. "There is something I need to do first."

"Oh yes?" I teased.

Rhydian kissed me.


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

The four of us were sitting in Shannon's bedroom drinking tea and eating our way through the rest of the contents of the biscuit barrel.

"So..." I began, "Dad was just telling us about some of the things Gran was going on about the other day."

"Ohhh interesting!" exclaimed Shannon, "I really want to talk to her about something I've been reading about. What has Dan told you?"

Rhydian continued, "Well" He smiled, "Dan was telling us about why it was important that there were five people in the room the other night when we were transforming. More about the link between us all."

"The Pentagram" stated Shannon.

"How the...?" I was lost for words. Tom just looked confused.

"I've been doing a bit of research" said Shannon, turning to pick up a large full lever arch file for her desk. 'Research' was written in Shannon's neat writing in black marker pen along the thick spine.

"A bit?!" laughed Rhydian.

Shannon handed the file to Tom who took it with two hands; he peeked the cover open and grimaced. I bet he was worried Shannon would test him on the contents later.

"What? where?" I stammered to Shannon.

"The internet is a wonderful invention Madeline." said Shannon adjusting her glasses. "I looked up all sorts of things. A lot of what is on there seems to be rubbish but some of the information might be useful. I printed off things that I thought were plausible and then organised it alphabetically. There is still plenty more to research but this is a start."

Tom was silently banging his forehead on the huge file still on his knee. Rhydian started to laugh.

"Nerd" he spluttered at Shannon.

"Wolf" she answered him back.

I was laughing too, we were all laughing. Rhydian hid his face in my neck as we all laughed our heads off, Tom still bent over the folder groaning.

Shannon turned on the office style chair at her desk still smiling. "As soon as I found the term on the internet and read up on it, I guessed that we had formed a Pentagram, whether we wanted to or not."

Tom was flicking through the folder, looking under 'P', muttering to himself.

"It made sense that you would both need protection and that Tom and I would help to provide that but I was surprised that five were needed..." Shannon mused, talking more to herself than to us.

"Pentagram: A five pointed star?" Tom questioned, quoting from Shannon's research. "What has that got to do with us?"

"Keep reading" ordered Shannon.

"_Pentagrams are thought to offer protection from Daemon's in the form of a five pointed star_" continued Tom "_Used in many religions to symbolised protection and safety, they are found in Christianity, Ancient Greece and used by the Babylonians. A Pentagram could be formed by five witches joining together in a collective consciousness to offer protection to an individual, group of people, place or object._ Wow" uttered Tom, "Who knew?!"

"I went on to look up a few witch websites and pagan sites that gave more details. Did you know that Pentagrams can be traced back further than the ancient Egyptians at much as 3000bc?" Shannon was beginning a lecture.

Fortunately Tom interrupted, "Then don't we need five witches to for a pentagram?"

"No Tom," Shannon shuck her head, "A pentagram can be formed by any five people with mystic powers, you, me and the wolfblood's. A 'normal' (she said, making speech marks in the air with her fingers) human wouldn't be able to make the bond."

"Dad said that pentagrams have been made with any combination, 5 wolfblood's, with or without Witches or Keepers." I added.

"OK," Said Tom, "so do we all get together and chant? Or make a potion on the next new moon, 'cause I'm telling you, I for one am not sacrificing any animal on some witchy alter, that kind of thing freaks me out!"

Rhydian stood up, "It's not like that mate, the way Dan described it, it is more like a collective consciousness', you all decide that we are protected and that's it. No wolfblood can hurt us, simple."

"Didn't you feel it?" questioned Shannon, "When Ellie told us about our mystic connections and she mentioned that it was good there were five of us in the room, how did you feel?"

"Apart from really really freaked that there was an injured werewolf on the bed?!" mocked Tom.

"Wolfblood" Rhydian and I corrected at the same time. Tom rolled his eyes.

"I don't know," continued Tom, "Sort of weird, like I had found my place in the world, like she had answered all the questioned that I had in my head."

"Like the stars aliened?!" I teased. "Whoooohooo".

"Well, Yer Maddy, just like everything suddenly made sense, it fell into place."

"OK, that's quite freaky"

"Tell me about it, it was so much better after Ellie spoke to us all the next day and explained everything. I still can't get my head around being a 'mystic being' though, it's going to look great on my CV! I wonder how many A-Levels it's worth?" Tom added.

"I keep offering to help Maddy in exams using Eolas" said Rhydian, "But she's not having any of it."

"I should think not" chipped in Shannon, "That would be cheating".

"Exactly." I confirmed. "I want it to all be my own work".

"Whatever Babes, the offers always there."

"OK, if you ever call me 'Babes' again I'll chew your leg off, 'Puppy dog'." I growled showing Rhydian my teeth.

"Point taken" said Rhydian, throwing up his hands in mock surrender.

"Oh bless, their first tiff!" mocked Tom.

Too late, I was already pecking Rhydian on the cheek and smiling at him. "Babes?!" I muttered shaking my head.

"The fact is that most of this stuff is fascinating," mused Shannon, "I might not bother going back to sixth form now, I might just study my legacy, talk to Ellie and see how many more Witches there are out there. Go on some visits."

"And how do you think your Mam and Dad will take that news?!" I reminded Shannon.

"Humm, point taken" replied Shannon, "they might not be thrilled. They don't really like change much. I tried to suggest that we listen to Radio 3 for a change instead of Radio 4 and you would have thought that the world was coming to an end. I can't see them taking the news that their daughter is a Witch at all well."

"I'm not sure my Mum will be thrilled about me being a Keeper either" muttered Tom.

"Keep the secret" shrugged Rhydian. "It's your roles anyway"

"Besides, I think we all need to stick together for the time being" stated Tom decidedly, "Maddy and Rhydian will need our protection until thing gets settled."

"Wow" I answered, "You really have fallen into the role of Keeper haven't you?!"

"Yep!" said Tom, "that and I really don't fancy a tongue lashing from my Mum for joining an alternative sub culture!" he added.

"Freaks together." stated Shannon. "Do you really think there is a threat to Maddy and Rhydian though Tom?" she queried.

"It feels like there is" shrugged Tom, "I can't quite put my finger on why or how but it feels like they need our protection, right?"

"Right" said Shannon.

"Cool" I said "So it's decided. We all go back and do our A-Levels and stick together for the time being?"

"Except me" said Rhydian looking sad.

"What were your plans for after you came back?" Asked Shannon.

"Don't know, hadn't thought that far. I just wanted to see Maddy."

"Bluggghh" Tom made a vomiting noise .

"You will always be able to make a living from your drawings and art though" I suggested to him.

"If I go tame Maddy. I quite liked being wild, when you try it you'll see. The freedom is amazing."

"When I try it? Hummm, we'll see." I didn't want to get into a disagreement again. As I kept being reminded, the future was ahead of us, what mattered was the here and now. What mattered was that for the time being we were safe and that we had come over to Shannon's to revise for exams...

"Exam's" I groaned "English tomorrow."

"Romeo and flippin' pathetic Juliette" moaned Shannon. She hated English, it was her worse subject (and by worse I mean she was only predicted an A not an A*). It was something she couldn't learn a string of facts for, Shannon had dropped anything remotely artistic after year nine, much more interested in Science and Maths.

"They do my head in" continued Shannon.

"Oh it's lovely Shan, all that forbidden love and destiny and 'They'll be together no matter what'."

"Yer sounds familiar doesn't it?!" Mocked Tom "For Montague and Capulet read Morris and Smith..."

"What?!" I questioned.

"Forbidden love, from two opposing families! O!M!G! You two are Romeo and Juliette!" gasped Shannon, laughing!

Rhydian just looked confused, flicking through the English text book on the end of Shannon's bed.

"You know what, I think I'll just wait for the film version" he muttered.

"There have been about four!" tutted Shannon.

"Cool, forget reading all this then, why bother?!"

The three of us glared at Rhydian.

"OK, point taken" he muttered. "So come on then, give me a critical comparison of how some beardy weirdy bloke saw teen romance to how the real thing can be observed right here, live, in Shannon's house. Bring it on!"

Once the four of us had voiced our doubts or convictions about whether Rhydian and I really were the 21st century equivalent to Romeo and Juliette, we had actually managed to get quite a good bit of revision done. Even Shannon seemed happy walking out of the exam the next day.

Oh it felt good to be outside after spending the afternoon cooped up inside that smelly Gym hall. I know no-one found it pleasant, the warm clawing smell of wood varnish from the panelling around the walls mixed with rubber from the PE mats stacked in the corner and the smell 20 years worth of sweaty teenage bodies engrained in every facet of the halls walls and floor but for a wolfblood the smell was over whelming. It was a relief to be out of there.

I strolled out across the school yard tilting my face towards the sun, letting the warm spring air flood over me, breathing deeply to clear my nose.

Suddenly another smell made we whip around.

Rhydian, standing by the gate, he looked so cool it made my heart skip a beat. The way he stood with his hoody pulled up and one booted foot up flat against the wall, laces undone, and his hands in his pockets. He looked like his was in a movie scene. He pulled back his hoody, messing his blond hair and grinned at us.

"OH!"

"MY!"

"GOD!"

I didn't even have chance to smile back before I was being barged out of the way.

The three 'K's.

Of course. They had never been able to resist Rhydian, the bad boy they thought they could turn good.

"Look what the cats' dragged back" screeched Kara, (If only she knew).

"We never thought we'd see you again" Flirted Kay.

"What's it really like in Prison?!" stuttered Katrina.

"He's not been in prison, have you babe?" questioned Kara.

"I heard you murdered your parents!" continued Katrina, "Is is true? You got out quick, must have been a crime of passion" she romanticised, "or have you escaped?" adding with mock horror.

"Hello Ladies" flirted Rhydian, "Lovely to see you all looking so... well" Rhydian finished, eyeing the copious amounts of hairspray and makeup caked over the K's.

Kara and Katrina had actually flung themselves at him and where kissing him on both cheeks like they were long lost family.

"But here is who I've really been waiting for." Rhydian smiled and reached over their heads towards me, taking my hand and pulling me towards him.

"Hello gorgeous" he smiled.

Before I could stop him he kissed me full on the lips, wrapping his arms around me, making me melt against him.

I could hear the jaws dropping around me. I felt my face go deep red; my knees were so wobbly that it was a good job Rhydian was holding me tight otherwise I would have been a blob on the floor. I buried my head in his neck, smelling his scent. He held me tight against his chest, tucking me almost inside his jacket to keep me snug. He smelt of the woods. Safe.

"You came back for her?!" spat Kay

"Always" was Rhydian's simple answer.

He lifted my chin with his hand, kissed me tenderly on the lips and simply whispered "home".


	9. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER NINE**

Shannon was texting me on the way home, apparently we had left a wake of destruction behind us. Jimi had seen Kay air kiss Rhydian and was not at all happy. There had been a lot of playground speculation over the last few months on whether or not they were a couple, they had never actually got around to going out but there was clearly a bit of 'will they/won't they' going on. I suspect that Jimi's father would have frowned on him having a girlfriend before finishing his exams and besides Jimi was so arrogant he would assume that Kay would wait around for him to ask her out. After this afternoon's little flirtations display I doubt that relationship would even get off the ground.

"I can't believe that you did that!" I exclaimed to Rhydian, stopping again to look at my phone as another message came through.

We had been running again and it felt great! Rhydian's shoulder was healing and he wanted to stretch his legs. We weren't really pushing it, just jogging for us but probably Olympic marathon runner pace for most humans. I could run like this all day.

"What?! Kissed you?" Rhydian questioned.

"No! Turned up at school! Do you realise what this will mean? You left your foster parents without a trace, the police were involved. It won't take long before someone in authority starts to ask questions about where you have been for over a year."

"Ah." I knew that look. Guilty. Puppy dog eyes glanced at me though his long lashes as he scuffed his foot on the woodland floor. "Didn't think about that..."

"You never do!" I accused. "Just typical, you never think things through. Mam and Dad will go mad if you bring down the police and social services sniffing around the place."

"Don't be angry, I just wanted to see you."

"I know." All the fight had gone out of me, "I missed you too. Aghh" I groaned "you know that we are now one of those soppy coupley kissy couples. Blughh"

Rhydian laughed. "Maddion!"

"Ewweew" I grimaced "and I've got to go back in there tomorrow."

"Maybe 'Rhydiline' would be more appropriate."

"Oh no, not even going there, that sounds like a migraine tablet!"

"If your Mum and Dad aren't happy then I recon we'll both be locked in the cellar tomorrow so nothing to worry about" he shrugged.

"Great!"

I ran a bit hard this time to run off some of the tension and Rhydian still managed to keep up, his shoulder was bothering him less and less, though I doubted he would still be able to transform.

We arrived home to find that Gran was in the kitchen making chocolate brownies and Dad was in the work shop. We both sat down and looked sheepish.

Gran knew that something was up straight away.

"Oh blimy, I wouldn't like to be in your shoes when Emma gets back" was her response when we told her that Rhydian had been at the school.

To say that Mam went ballistic was an understatement. She had been coping with Rhydian's presence quite well up until that point but I think that the last few days had taken all her patience and this was just too much. She let Rhydian have it full barrel. Even Dad could hear her from the work shop.

There was nothing we could do to defend ourselves, Gran had already warned us that it wasn't worth getting into a slanging match with Mam, we just had to let her rant and rave at us for an hour or so until she calmed down.

In the end it was decided that we would wait and see if anyone showed up and if they did, we would say that Rhydian was a distant cousin; Gran had brought him back to Britain when she had been on her travels and hope that Gran's passport would be enough. If they asked to see Rhydian's then we were stuffed.

Fortunately, apart from one phone call from the Vaughn's, Rhydian's old foster parents, no one came knocking that night. Dad spoke to the Vaughn's and he said that they weren't sure what to make of the reasons that he gave them for Rhydian's disappearance or indeed his re-appearance. But, there wasn't much they could do about it, Rhydian was over 16 now and legally able to leave the care system so long as he was able to support himself (we had googled it to make sure). The Vaughn's had to be satisfied that we were looking after him.

"It's only a matter of time before we have the authorities round though" confirmed Dad as he came off the phone.

"May be I should move on" asked Rhydian "I can't stay here forever anyway. We were talking with Shannon and Tom yesterday about our plans for the future and the truth is that I just don't have any."

"Well Madeline is going back to school in September to do her A-Levels so don't get any ideas about running off dragging my daughter around the countryside living wild. She has plans you know, wants to make something of herself." Mam was off on one again.

"Mam" I interrupted her full flow. I'd let her go on about the fact that Rhydian had been seen by everyone before but this time I stood up to her. "Mam, of course I'm going back to school, so are Shannon and Tom. We talked about it last night." I was more worried that Rhydian would follow through on his idea to go wild again, he had hinted at it last night.

"Oh" That had deflated her.

"Still doesn't explain what we are going to do with this one though does it?" said Gran, gesturing towards Rhydian.

Rhydian looked at his hands with a resigned shrug. "I don't know what to do" he muttered. "I don't want to leave Maddy" he added quietly.

"No, we didn't think you would love" Gran smiled. "I've been thinking that I might settle down for a bit until all this blows over. I've been asking round the village and there is a cottage for rent just off Northumberland Road. Three bedrooms, just renovated, comes furnished. I think Rhydian could come and stay with me until we see what happens with the Wilds."

Rhydian seemed to visibly relax "Really Ellie, you'd have me come to stay with you?"

"I could do with a man about the house!" said Gran with a theatrical wink!

"Thanks" smiled Rhydian. "Only I couldn't pay my way, I haven't got any money".

"I've been think about that too" Dad piped up. "I really like your design ideas for the new seating area at Stoneybridge Primary, I think I could show them to the head teacher and I might get the commission. I've always been great with the woodwork side of things but rubbish at presenting my design ideas, how do you fancy coming to work for me? It would only be a bit of work but I recon you could make a bit more by selling your pictures. That one you did the other day of the sunrise is amazing. What do you think?"

"You've been drawing?" I questioned Rhydian.

"Keeping myself busy while you were at school."

Dad stood and walked to the side table picking up a pile of papers on the side.

"Just sketches really" mused Rhydian. "I heard the head of the primary school talking to Dan so I nipped over to have a look at what she was taking about and came back and did some designs."

I was flicking through the pictures in front of me. There were designs of a small open summer house, perfect for children to work in outside. The first few were pictures, then more were plans, giving sizes and measurements.

"I just don't quite get how it all fits together" shrugged Rhydian.

"That's where I come in" said Dad, "that is the bit that I get, I just can't put my ideas down on paper. This will need a bit of a tweak if it to stand up to the weather but the idea is perfect."

I continued to look at the pictures. Rhydian had done a couple of sketches of the house and the garden and then I came across one that was more detailed that the others. I looked up at Rhydian, he was smiling at me.

The picture was of the sunrise, it was stunning, subtle, done in coloured pencils, the detail was amazing. It was drawn as though sitting on the bench at the bottom of the garden where we had first kissed.

I looked up at Rhydian again. He gave me the smallest of nods. The picture was for me.

Dad had found a frame to put Rhydian's drawing in, the frame was old fashioned and heavy and didn't suit the picture at all but I was so thrilled to have it on my wall that the frame really didn't matter. Rhydian had presented it to me saying it was a belated birthday present. I lay back in my bed and I couldn't stop looking at it.

Gran was in the spare room and Rhydian was sleeping on the sofa, well, more like across the sitting room, he took up so much space, is legs dangled off the end! He seemed comfortable enough though and his shoulder was healing really well. He said that he wanted to try and transform tomorrow but I know what that would mean, he would go and try and find Ceri and Bryn and the others in his mothers pack. The thought made my stomach tie in knots again.

We only had a couple more exams to go and the butterflies inside had nothing to do with nerves the next day – I was worried about Rhydian going to find his Mum.

When we arrived at school day I was relieved to find that Rhydian and I were old news. Apparently it had all kicked off between Jimi and Kay, a full on slanging match that had attracted quite an audience until Miss Fitzgerald had come out to send everyone home.

We were all sitting in Miss Blunts room upstairs having a last minute revision lesson for a PHSE exam that afternoon. Most people were just mucking about, we all thought the subject was a waste of time, but it had been made compulsory two years ago. Shannon was furious, she would rather have done an academic subject but the rest of us just saw it as a breeze.

Shannon and Tom were chatting something Tom had read in Shannon's 'research' file he had read the night before but I had zoned out, my body might have been in the classroom but my mind was elsewhere. A tiny part of me was wishing I was brave enough to use Eolas to see what Rhydian was doing but instead I was speculating in my head. I could picture him having a cup of tea and munching his way through most of the enormous plate of Brownies Gran had baked the previous evening.

I was gazing out of the window day dreaming when something in the shadow across the school yard caught my eye, the tiniest of movements against the wall. I couldn't even be sure I had really seen something but suddenly my senses were on high alert. My ears pricked and I inhaled a deep breath through my nose. Unfortunately all the windows were closed, all I could smell was the classroom, floor cleaner and dry wipe marker.

There it was again, a definite movement; there was someone or something hiding in the shadows to the side of the Maths block across the yard. My back straitened and shoulder's lifted. Shannon and Tom stopped their conversation and followed my gaze.

"Maddy?" questioned Shannon, "What can you see?" she whispered.

I couldn't take my eyes off the spot, I frowned trying to focus more clearly, my sight was better than anyone in the room but I still couldn't make out who was down there.

Swiftly someone moved between the shadows, crossing a gap between the classrooms.

It was a female and it was a wild wolfblood.


	10. Chapter 10

**CHAPTER TEN**

I stood up not taking my eyes off the spot where I knew she was. Tom and Shannon's eyes were pinned on the same spot as mine.

"You feel that Shan?" whispered Tom.

"Like electricity, it's amazing!" said Shannon under her breath.

The figure moved from out of the shadows and stepped into the sunlight.

I was stunned. She was defiantly wild, I could see that by the way she dressed, her clothes were old and worn but practical, she wore browns, a mix of dark and light, perfect for hiding away in woods and trees. She moved with such stealth, sliding along the wall, even now in full view you could barely see her, if she had stood still probably the humans wouldn't even have noticed her. She had long dark blond hair that fell in waves down her back, blurring her outline, her eyes flicked across the yard and I could see her dark brown eyebrows framing her almond shaped eyes. The way she stalked, aware of her surroundings but clearly fixed on her goal she was more feline that canine. She reminded me of a cat the way her limbs moved with such fluid motion, her head hardly moved at all as she crept along the wall to the corner. Then she stopped, assessing the best place to cross in the open to the main part of the school.

She looked more like a cat than a wolf... something stirred in my mind, when Rydian had been talking about the people he had met when he was living wild with his Mum, the others in Ceri's pack.

A girl. I remembered the way he had spoken about her; it had made me feel jealous the way Rhydian had described her.

Grace.

This had to be her, I could imagine those long limbs being perfect for scaling any obstacle, she looked like she could climb up the wall straight to me in a single bound.

She flicked her head upwards and looked straight at me, it was as though I had called out her name. I stepped back from the window.

What was she doing here? Rhydian wasn't here, they would know that, so why come to the school? Wild wolfblood's wouldn't have any reason to come to the school would they?

It hit me. For me. They were coming for me.

"I need to get out of here" I whispered.

Suddenly someone shouted from just in front of me. "Who's that woman standing there?"

She had been spotted standing like a statue, so still in the middle of the playground.

"Create a diversion, we need to get out of here" I hissed under my breath.

Shannon was already rummaging in her large bag she had taken to carrying about for the last couple of days.

"Come on _Hermione_, what magic have you got in there?" Tom's voice was tense.

"Don't need magic when we have science Tom."

"NO! Is that a...? Shannon, don't do that! Not in here..." Tom hissed but it was too late, Shannon had carefully snapped the top off a small glass phial and dropped it on the floor.

The reaction was instant.

Screams and shouts broke out around me; people were pushing back chairs and moving out of the way. We stood up and moved to the other side of the classroom, Miss Blunt was trying to keep order and failing. Suddenly it hit her, we watched her disgusted reaction in her face.

"Everybody out!" she shouted "When I find out who did this there will be serious trouble!"

We all bundled out of the classroom.

"A stink bomb Shannon?!" I whispered under my breath. "Are you actually crazy?! I had hoped for something a little more subtle!"

"Did the trick didn't it? Created a diversion? No one is thinking about that woman standing in the playground right now are they?!"

Tom simply raised his eyebrows. "You could have given us some warning though Shannon, I think I'm gonna yak"

Everyone was coughing and trying to cover their faces, the smell seemed to cling to our clothes. As soon as I had had the first whiff I had held my breath, but it was still over powering.

"I still need to get out of here" I hissed to Shannon and Tom.

"And she is still down there" said Tom.

"How do I get away from this lot without anyone noticing I've gone and passed her without her seeing me? She'll smell me as soon as I step outside the door. I bet there are others in the wood waiting for me between here and home".

Tom and Shannon thought for a moment, then suddenly Tom took a deep breath and squared his shoulders.

"How likely is a wild wolfblood to attack a human, Maddy?" He asked me.

"They would only attack if they felt threatened; keeping their existence a secret is more important I would think."

"Good, right. Here goes then." And before we could stop him Tom had turned round and punched the fire alarm on the wall.

We waiting until the registers had been checked and the teaches knew that everyone was out of the school but now that the pupils had fallen out of the class lines and were milling about, the three of us had our heads together and were discussing how I was going to get home. I'd tried calling Mam and Dad as we all came out of the school, subtly holding my phone down in front of me as we clattered down the stairs. There hadn't been any answer which had me terrified.

The girl I assumed was Grace had disappeared, I imaging that hearing the fire alarm go off would freak out a wild wolfblood. It made my ears ring. I could tell that they were close by though, watching for me. I felt unsafe. Vulnerable.

We were right in the middle of the playground surrounded by chattering uniformed school children. There was much speculation about what was going on, first a stink bomb was let off and then the fire alarm in exactly the same place? The gossip and reasoning would last for days.

A flash of rust brown at the edge of the playground caught my eye. Would they really be so bold? Another gap in the pupils and in it a tall dark haired man made me turn back the other way.

Shannon gasped; I whipped round to see the Girl was back and creeping alongside the maths block wall again. Students were moving away from them, eyeing them suspiciously.

A tall scruffy man appeared from round the side of the car park loping towards me. His wide grin showed a mouth with more than a few teeth missing; he kept his eyes directly on mine. They didn't care who saw them.

I span around and saw another man coming towards me, again eyes fixed on mine, this time the eyes were strange, creepy. One eye was blue and the other brown, 'wall eyes' Rhydian had said it was called.

Four of them, Grace, the dark haired man, the toothless one and the walleyed man all coming towards me. People were looking around now, dropping quiet as they noticed the strangers.

Mr Jeffers called out "Excuse me, may I help you, you shouldn't be on school property without permission" towards the dark haired man who smiled at him absently.

"Ceri and Bryn are missing" I whispered to Shannon and Tom.

"It's a trap!" I suddenly reaslised. "They are distracting me here while Ceri and Bryn go after Rhydian!"

I span on my heals and ran across the yard, I didn't care who saw me, I pushed past people as I tried to move as fast as I could.

I heard Shannon and Tom call my name as I went, then Miss Fitzgerald shout as she realised I was running. I didn't look behind me as I crossed the field to see if the Wild's were following me. I hoped they were; I could lead them away.

I hoped that I was fast enough to out run them, that my sudden departure had caught them unawares and given me a bit of a head start.

I pelted towards the woods entering them running as fast as I could as a human, taking a fallen tree in a single long leap. I darted between the trees and along the familiar route towards home. At least if we were all together we might be able to frighten them off and protect Rhydian. I consoled myself that I knew the woods better than they did and even if they were following my scent then they would still be slower than me, I might be able to make it home before they caught me up.

Their smell crisscrossed the woods, they had been here looking for us. I could smell the wild wolfbloods' smell and that of Ceri and Bryn going backwards and forwards along the route I was taking.

I could hear the others following me, chasing after me, but they were still some way behind, even so the sound made me push on faster.

There was another fallen tree in the path ahead; I knew exactly where to plant my feet to get a perfect lift off to clear it in a single bound without even touching the log to push myself off. I soared through the air.

I hit the ground before I even reaslised that their hands were on me. Bryn and Ceri must have leapt at exactly the same time to grab me mid air, pulling me to the ground.

I was right, it was a trap. But not for Rhydian. For me.

The others weren't chasing me; they were herding me, knowing that I would follow the shortest, quickest, most familiar path home. Ceri and Bryn had been waiting.

The electricity began to flow through my limbs as I started to change into a wolf. I felt all their hands on me holding me as I thrashed about trying to break free as I changed. The others had caught up and were holding me too now.

I saw flashes of yellow eyes and felt their breath against my skin, their hands starting to claw tight around my limbs, six wolfblood's holding me down while I still struggled and fought against them with all my strength. I screamed and howled and a clawed hand was clamped over my mouth that was now becoming a muzzle, it was hard to breath but I could still smell them, the wild pack smell that overwhelmed me.

Suddenly the hand from my face disappeared; I took in a deep breath and prepared to howl for all I was worth. Before I could make a sound I felt myself being covered from head to foot in something, I was constricted, restrained, it was smelly and suffocating, I felt as though I had been wrapped tightly in a large rough blanket. I couldn't move. I couldn't even transform.

Everything went black.


	11. Chapter 11

**CHAPTER ELEVEN**

**RHYDIAN**

"WHAT THE F..." I stopped short.

I'd started running as soon as I saw the wilds at the school in my head, screaming for Dan and Emma to follow me.

We must have covered about a mile before I stopped suddenly.

"They've got her" I screamed, "They've tricked her and got her".

Emma and Dan caught me up.

"What do you mean they've got her" spat Emma.

"Ceri, Bryn, Rocky and the others, they tricked her into thinking that they were coming after me and they trapped her."

"Have they hurt her?! What are they doing to her?!" she yelled into my face.

"I don't know, I can't see. They are blocking me. Stopping me from looking for her."

I knelt down, feeling the earth beneath my fingers; connecting with the place I knew I had last seen her. It was no good, all I could see was darkness, it was uncomfortable to do, like I was trapped too. I groaned with the effort.

"Dan you try" Emma begged.

Dan was already on the ground. He had dabbled with Eolas in his teens but he hadn't been able to use it for a long time now.

We all waited, holding our breath.

"It's no good." Dan whispered. "I can't see anything, just woods and sky and blackness. It's like they are trying to put images in my head, like a televisions that is out of tune, all pixelated".

"Can they do that?" Emma sounded desperate. "Oh, God, what are they planning to do to her."

"They can't hurt her Emma." Ellie came running up behind us, she was very out of breath and looked just as desperate as Emma and Dan.

"You said that the Pentagram would protect her. How could they even take her if we are protected?" I spat at Ellie.

"I don't know Rhydian" Ellie trembled "but they must be fighting it somehow, it will be hard enough to take her against her will, to fight the Pentagram, to hurt her would do immeasurable damage to the pack. Tear them apart. Of that I am sure".

"I hope your right Ellie" said Dan, barely keeping the anger out of his voice.

"We've got to find her, I need to go and find her". I was off and running again.

I could hear Dan, Emma and Ellie follow but I was faster.

How could I have let this happen? How could I have left Maddy at the school all by herself? I was so angry I couldn't even focus.

I'd been keeping an eye on her throughout the day; it was more habit now more than anything. I was so used to tuning in to her every time that I used Eolas that I had become curious. She would have never forgiven me if she knew I zoned out of the real world every so often just to glance at her. I wasn't creepy or weird about it, I wasn't stalking her, I'd just missed my friends so much while I was living wild, that it had felt like a moment of 'normal' to look at what they were all doing.

Meeting Maddy had been so amazing, she was my best friend, she had understood me like no one else. She stood up to me when I made stupid choices and stood up for me when the world was against me.

I had freaked when Mum had told me about the predictions. It had taken me three days of living by myself to get my head round the idea that I not only loved my best friend but to realise that I was in love with her too.

I knew I had to come back to her. I knew that I owed her the truth, that Dan and Emma hadn't told her and wouldn't until they were sure who Fillin's descendant was.

Maddy had filled my head; it made the rest of the pack furious. All they could see was Tames every time we communicated. They were convinced that I would try and turn them all tame, drive out the wild wolf and eventually stop the transformations all together. Stop who we were.

They weren't even sure who I was, that I really was Ceri's son but the more Ceri talked to me the more I realised I was so like her. I couldn't forgive her for abandoning me as a child, accident or not, but they way that all the wilds lived their lives still fascinated me.

The wilds found it hard to accept anyone new into their pack, even transient wild wolfbloods were kept at arm's length, so to suddenly have me and my tame ideas thrust upon them caused deep distrust.

I had run hard and got to the place in the woods where they had taken her quickly, there were signs that she had put up quite a fight, I could picture the scene... I couldn't smell any blood though so they hadn't injured her.

I covered the area quickly, tracing round in a spiral to cover all the area as quickly as possible. I could smell them all, Mum, Bryn, Rocky, Toby, Bert and Grace and Maddy most of all.

Six against one. Not great odds, poor Maddy she didn't stand a chance.

"Why have they taken her? Where will they go?" Emma, Dan and Ellie had caught me up.

"Quite a struggle. Even a human would notice that something untoward had gone on here." Muttered Dan, looking around at the area of churned up earth and bent tree branches.

"If they've hurt her, I swear I'll..." Growled Emma, she didn't need to finish.

"No sign of blood Emma, just one hell of a fight" said Ellie covering the ground with a clinical eye and sniffing carefully over the area where she had obviously been taken.

I was trying to find out which direction they had taken her in, working out from the spot where Maddy had been, trying to follow their scent but they had been clever, they had all covered this spot frequently over the last few days backwards and forwards to cover their tracks, they had even been up in the trees.

They could have taken her in any direction.

"It's no good, we can't follow them" muttered Dan.

"Well what do we do? How do we get Maddy back?" howled Emma.

"We need to go back home and get some help" said Ellie decidedly.

I swiftly touched the earth again, checking the cottage was safe. I couldn't see anyone from the wild pack but Tom and Shannon were on their way, they would see that the house was just as we had left it so suddenly, the back door was still open, Ellie's cup of tea half drunk on the kitchen table, my drawing pad and pencils strewn across the bench in the yard where I had been sketching.

I hoped they would stay put until we got there.

I was off and running again, it would be so much quicker as a wolf but I daren't risk being seen, even in the woods. I could hear Emma, Dan and Ellie follow.

It seemed to take so long to get home, though it was only minutes I felt like I was travelling so slowly even though I was running so fast. I pushed on as hard as I could.

I cleared the wall at the bottom of the garden in a single bound, I really didn't care if anyone saw me, I could answer questions later.

Shannon and Tom we sitting outside the back door looking extremely anxious. They stood as I hastily approached them.

Shannon took a deep breath, preparing to tell me what had happened to Maddy but I was one step ahead of her.

"They've got Maddy. Ceri and Bryn and the others, they captured her in the woods."

Shannon's face crumpled, Tom looked furious. "What? How?!" He shouted at me.

"They tricked her and grabbed her in the woods, they have taken her somewhere but we don't know where."

Dan, Emma and Ellie caught me up, all breathing hard.

Emma ushered us all inside. Shannon was muttering to herself, under her breath "How could they have got her, why would she be so stupid to fall for a trap, where would they have taken her?"

Tom looked terrifying. I'd never seen such tension in his face, he was so angry.

Emma was frantic. "What are we going to do Dan? How do we find her?"

I was so desperate to run that I was shaking all over, I could barely think straight.

"Enough" Ellie shouted, her face was contorted; she looked about as wolf while still being fully human as she could. Everyone in the room fell silent.

"This is my pack and I'm in charge" she growled, "We are going to find Madeline. It was her that they wanted and we don't know why but we are going to need help if we are going to get her back to us quickly."

"The pentagram will protect her from harm but we are going to need reinforcements to cover search for her. They could be planning to take her anywhere."

"Tom, Shannon, we need you to stay here and co-ordinate the search. Dan, Emma, Rhydian, go and pack. We might be gone for a few days. Emma, where is your list?" Ellie was firing orders like an army general mobilising his troops.

"I'll get it" said Emma moving towards the dresser.

Emma took a small note book from the bottom of a draw and gave it to Shannon who was still shaking. "This is an address book for all our Tame wolfblood friends, start ringing them and tell them what is going on. Rhydian, look at me, we need you to find her. Where are they taking her?"

Emma was so intense her eyes were turning yellow; Shannon and Tom both took a step back.

I couldn't breathe; the room seemed to be too full of people so emotionally charged. I wanted the world to stop moving, only for a minute while I could gather myself and look for Maddy but it was like everything was moving too fast, spinning out of control.

I stepped outside breathing heavily. Maddy where are you? I asked myself.

Crouching to touch the stones outside the back door I tried to connect with the earth. I could see the woods where we had just been, see the tracks that we had followed there and back but I couldn't see Maddy. I could feel the earth around me, smell the scents of the garden and the woods beyond but I still couldn't find her in any of it.

I suddenly worked out what I needed to do. I bolted back into the house and shot up the stairs, taking them 3 at a time.

Her bedroom, I needed to connect with Maddy, not the earth. It felt strange being in her without her permission, without her. I was uncomfortable, what would Emma and Dan think about me being in here?

I looked around the room at all her little bits and pieces, school books and folders in piles on her desk, a hoodie over the back of her chair, her boots with thick socks stuffed in them at the bottom of the bed, the bed hastily made this morning before her exam. Next to her bed was a small book, I picked it up and read the cover 'Poisons, Potions and Aphrodisiacs by the Duchess of Northumberland' not Maddy's usual reading style, must be one of Shannon's. I flipped open the book and noticed writing on the first page _'Friendship... is not something you learn in school. But if you haven't learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven't learned anything at all' Muhammad Ali. Happy Sweet Sixteen Maddy, Lots of Love Shannon. XXX'_

I flicked through the book thinking about Maddy reading the pages and looking at the pictures. I smiled when I thought of her getting such a strange little present from Shannon.

My eyes moved around the room, taking her in, an eclectic mix of teenage girl who had had to grow up a little too quickly when faced with the responsibility of a secret that must be kept. Books, CD's, clothes, all in their place, not obsessively tidy but not strewn about the way they would have been if the room had have been mine.

My eyes rested on the picture on the wall, the drawing of the view from the bench in the garden. That morning hadn't exactly gone as I had planned it so carefully in my head. The truth was that she had taken me by surprise by kissing me so suddenly. I expected I would have to take my time, win her over, change her mind about moving from friend to something more.

Typical Maddy, always surprising me. Just when I thought I had her figured out she would do something to shock me.

Where was she and why couldn't I see her?

I closed my eyes and crouched down by the bed. I normally touched the earth to connect with it but as I had become better at Eolas I hadn't needed to so much but it was still a position I was able to best connect in.

I breathed in deeply smelling Maddy all around me.

The sensation disarmed me; I couldn't focus clearly, the images I saw swam and churned in my head making me feel dizzy and sick. It was like being drunk.

I'd only been drunk once, a deeply unpleasant experience. I went out and got smashed with some older boys from the foster home I was staying in. It was just before my first transformation and my world was a pretty messed up place at that point.

After that and then smashing up my room three days later when I first transformed, I was shipped out and on to the Vaughn's pretty quickly.

Being drunk wasn't something I wanted to try again anytime soon.

Never the less, I needed to find Maddy so I took some deep breathes and focused on her.

An image flashed into my head.


	12. Authors note

Authors note.

I'm so sorry I have not updated for a while, I'm having a bit of a rubbish time at the moment as my Mum is seriously ill in hospital. I've just not had any time to write but I promise I WILL finish the story, it's all in my head ready to go! Thank you for sticking with me. Fi x


	13. Chapter 12

**CHAPTER TWELVE**

I was confused, I couldn't work out why I was seeing the place I was inside my head.

It didn't make any sense...

"Can you see anything?" interrupted Emma passing the door with a large backpack in her arms.

I was still crouched on the floor in Maddy's room.

"I don't know... It's not right..." I couldn't explain it to her. I was shaking my head trying to get a clearer image.

I took a deep breath and tried again. Still the same.

I stood up and moved to go down stairs to the others. Maybe Ellie had more of a plan.

Tom was already on the phone, I was amazed at his decisiveness, he was explaining to someone on the other end who he was and why he was ringing and what his role in all this was. New Tom. Shannon still looked shaken, nervously biting at her thumb nail and pacing the floor like a caged animal.

"It's OK Shannon, We'll find her." I went over to her putting my hand on her shoulder and looking her in the eyes. I wished I believed it myself but we really didn't know where to start looking.

Tom came off the phone. "That's Julia and David, they are on their way, they will be here in a couple of hours."

Shannon nodded once and gave a weak smile but she still didn't look relieved.

"What will you do about school?" I suddenly questioned, they had left without any explanation.

"Oh hell, the exam" muttered Shannon letting her shoulders slump, "I'd forgotten about it... to be honest I don't really care!" she said, suddenly looking up.

Tom nearly fell over, "Who are you and what have you done with Shannon Kelly?!"

"It will be fine" Shannon continued, "you can do us a couple of fake Doctors notes and get us out of it, we'll say we had homemade egg sandwiches for lunch and that we both had food poisoning" she shrugged.

"OK, now I'm freaked" said Tom under his breath.

"Pinch the notes from your Dad" Shannon snapped at him.

Tom's Dad was a Doctor, though from what I remember he was a specialist in a hospital in Manchester so getting a forged GP's note from him might prove tricky. To be honest I wasn't bothered if they weren't.

"I'm not moving until Maddy is found" stated Shannon, setting her jaw in that determined way I'd seen before.

"No, neither am I" said Tom reaching for the address book again and flicking to the next entry.

Ellie and Emma had joined us, Dan was turning the Land Rover round in the drive way.

"But where do you start looking?" questioned Tom.

"I really don't know" shrugged Emma, she seemed suddenly deflated and her eyes filled with tears. I couldn't bear the thought of her loosing it now, Emma was always so strong and determined, if she fell to bits then I knew we were in trouble.

"I've seen something but I don't know if I can trust it..." I began

"Well, what is it?" demanded Emma, "anything will be useful."

"I keep seeing Lindesfarne, you know, Holy Island..."

"Where Maddy first transformed?" Emma questioned.

"Yer, it's only flashes of it, but defiantly there. I keep seeing the castle ruins and the shore line where we ran."

Dan re-joined us from outside. "Do you think they would take her there?" he asked to all of us.

I shrugged. "They have seen images of me and Maddy together in my head but it's unlikely they knew the exact place, Wild wolfbloods don't use the same place names as us, they are much more general about areas rather than specific locations. Why would they take her there though? It's not a great place to hide."

"It's a perfect place to hide" said Shannon.

The rest of us all turned to look at her open mouthed.

"Think about it" Shannon demanded, "What better place to hide than in full sight."

We still all looked confused.

Shannon sighed exasperatedly while Tom shrugged and shook his head, waiting for an explanation.

She continued, "Holy Island is wild and remote, there are no woods to hide in but there are plenty of holiday cottages and lots of tourists to get lost amongst. Plus it's only accessible for a few hours a day thanks to the coastal road. From my research, wild wolfbloods might not trust the human world or want to live in it but they will still use it to their advantage if they need to."

I thought about it. "That's true, wilds will live in abandoned houses or build den's in the winter, Mum told me about some places they had stayed in and we stayed in a cave over the winter months."

"Plus" continued Shannon, "It's the last place _we_ would think of looking for them, the images Rhydian is seeing in his head _could_ be because the place holds affection for him and Maddy, and it's not their normal territory or hiding place."

"How will they get her there?" questioned Tom.

"Mum and Bert can both drive, though Mum has never passed a test. They will steal or borrow a car or van if they need to." The thought of Maddy bundled into the back of a van made my stomach turn over, Emma took in a sharp breath, she clearly had the same image in her head.

"It's as good a place to start as any" shrugged Dan picking up the back pack by the door. I didn't have any clothes other that the ones I had arrived in so I had borrowed some from Dan, the trousers were all a bit too short and the tops too tight but I couldn't complain; it was good to wear clean clothes again.

Ellie, Dan, Emma and I headed out towards the car, Shannon and Tom followed us out.

"We'll stay here and keep ringing round, keep us informed of how you are going" demanded Tom.

Ellie and Dan climbed into the front of the Land Rover and Dan started the engine. Emma and I were in the back.

We set off towards the main road.

The journey was only about an hour, twisting and turning down Northumberland's sheep trail roads. It felt like so much longer bumping around in the back of the Land Rover. We were all silent and tense. I daren't look at Emma; I couldn't stand to see her trying so hard to hold it all together.

After what felt like an age we arrived on the small country lane leading to the causeway that crossed over to Holy Island, we could see that the tide was in before we got anywhere near the shore line.

Dan stopped the Land Rover in a lay by just before the start of the causeway.

"How long before we can get across?" questioned Emma.

Dan took out his phone and began to look up the times on the internet, it took a while to get signal but when he did it wasn't great news.

"The tide is coming in, it will be a good few hours before it starts to turn and we can get across." He told us with a resigned shrug.

"Is there any other way across?" questioned Emma.

I was so frustrated, I could feel my limbs begin to shake and tremble, I looked at my hands, the blood pulsing through my veins was turning dark and my eyes begin to change to yellow.

"I could swim across" I growled.

"Only as a wolf and you'd be seen, besides we need to stick together, six against two aren't great odds" ordered Dan.

Emma could see me begin to change "you need to calm down Rhydian, you can't change here".

"She'll be OK" soothed Ellie, "they won't hurt her".

I put myself in Maddy's place, she would be angry and upset and confused about what they were going to do to her, she would be worried about Emma and Dan too, I hoped that she would be worried about me too, but I wouldn't have blamed her if she had been furious with me for putting her in this position in the first place.

This was my entire fault, if I hadn't come back, if I had spent more time with the wild pack assuring them that we would never want to turn them tame then maybe they wouldn't have felt the need to take Maddy.

I felt sick with guilt and worry.

I took deep breaths and tried to calm down. Maddy would be rightly angry with me but there was nothing I could do about that now, I just had to know that she was safe.

We sat huddled in the Land Rover all looking out towards the Island. We were silent. There was nothing to be said.

Emma was crouched on the bench seat curled in a ball, her face tucked into her knees with her arms wrapped around herself, she was breathing deeply, I know she was trying to use all her wolfblood instinct to find Maddy. Emma wouldn't use Eolas but she could search for Maddy using a mother's love.

We must have sat there for nearly an hour before I cracked.

"I can't sit here anymore" I suddenly shouted, reaching to open the back door and climb out.

I was off and running before the others could say anything.

I ran south along the coast line as hard as I could, burning off the nervous energy that had accumulated in my limbs. What were they dong to her? Would they hurt her? I trusted my Mum but then I had never expected Bryn, my own brother, to attack me, even if he was going for Maddy.

I skidded to a halt breathing hard; I crouched to connect with the earth again, looking hard for all of them. I felt my scenes skim across the water towards the island. I searched the places where I had been with Maddy, when she had first transformed a couple years ago.

We had 'accidently' become trapped on the island when I had faked an injury so as not to return with a school trip. We had all been stuck on the island for a full moon. Maddy's first transformation. She had refused to leave me when she thought I was injured delaying the school minibuses departure and so we had all been trapped here.

Shannon and Tom had suspected that something was wrong and had gone looking for us, they had almost caught us as wolves too but thanks to Maddy's quick thinking we managed to stay hidden. I owed Maddy so much; she has saved my skin on more than one occasion.

I felt the sand beneath my fingers and focused on the island. I could see images but nothing clean like I was used to, I couldn't understand how they were blocking me, why couldn't I see Maddy?

I stood and faced the island, howling deep and loud.

I howled until I was breathless, thank goodness we were miles away from anywhere and no humans would hear me.

I finally fell to my knees in desperation. I closed my eyes and let my head slup forward. Even when we made it onto the island we still hadn't the first clue where to start looking for her and if we raised suspicion the wilds might whisk her away to another location or worse, hurt her.

As I knelt there on the edge of the shore, my knees in the water, I felt defeated. My breathing had slowed and I had closed my eyes.

Suddenly Maddy was in my head, I could hear her chanting my name over, repeating it like a mantra. Was I imagining her? She became clearer. She was huddled on a bed, her hands and feet bound together, a large chain tethering her to the metal framed bed.

She was silently rocking backwards and forwards, her eyes closed, arms wrapped protectively around her knees, just like Emma had been in the back of the Land Rover.

It was only a flash of an image but it was enough, I could see her!

I took a deep breath, the sea salt smell clearing my nose; I focused on the sound of the waves and on Maddy again.

This time I could hear her before I could see her. She was calling my name, over and over.

Maddy.


End file.
